Text 201, 102 rader
Skriven 2004-07-30 14:07:28 av Alan Hess
Ärende: stupid shirt
====================
Only a moron would come up with t-shirts like these about an elective medical
procedure (especially one that's so controversial.)  What's next - "I had a
tummy tuck."  "I had my breasts enlarged."  "I had a face lift."  
********

Some Planned Parenthood Affiliates Disapprove of 'I Had an Abortion' T-Shirts
By Melanie Hunter
CNSNews.com Deputy Managing Editor
July 29, 2004

(CNSNews.com) - As more pro-life groups condemn the nation's largest abortion
provider for selling a new t-shirt that states, "I had an abortion," Planned
Parenthood affiliates in three states have publicly voiced their disapproval
for the shirt.

The fact that affiliates in Idaho, North Carolina and South Carolina object to
the shirt's message affirms that most Planned Parenthood volunteers and
employees don't have a true understanding of what the organization is really
about, said Jim Sedlak, executive director of American Life League's STOPP
International.

"This is going beyond pro-choice. We're offending people," Brian Lewis,
director of public policy for Planned Parenthood Health Systems of North
Carolina, told the Charlotte Observer newspaper. He sent an email Tuesday to
the Planned Parenthood Federation of America headquarters expressing his
disapproval.

Rebecca Poedy, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Idaho, told KBCI-TV
in Boise that she was "very disappointed."

"I think the issue to focus on here is the effort that Planned Parenthood goes
to, to prevent unwanted pregnancy. I think this is just a poor decision and we
are just not supportive of it," Poedy said.

Lewis, whose group represents Planned Parenthood affiliates throughout North
Carolina and in South Carolina, said he thought Planned Parenthood was planning
to pull the shirts because of the negative reactions to them. But, they are
still being sold on Planned Parenthood's website.

"This has so many repercussions," Lewis told the Observer. "This is not what
America needs."

Sedlak said most people association with Planned Parenthood are unaware of the
background of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger.

"Planned Parenthood was founded by a staunch racist who firmly believed in the
eugenics movement. This organization is now the single largest abortion
provider in the country," said Sedlak. "I am positive that is not well known by
Planned Parenthood's supporters and customers."

Sedlak said the new t-shirt "confirms that the abortion chain lacks any sense
of integrity, tact, and compassion. This shirt's message celebrates an act of
violence that is traumatic for women, and worst of all, kills an innocent
child."

He said "this latest stunt goes right along with the philosophies which have
produced such items as a 'Choice on Earth' holiday card and a Florida
advertisement which said, 'Give the gift that stops giving...a gift certificate
for a holiday vasectomy at Planned Parenthood.'"

"Apparently, it isn't enough to make a regrettable choice," said Martha Nolan
of Crossroads, a pro-life organization that has sponsored walks across America
for the last 10 years. "Now, abortion advocates seem to believe that the choice
should be displayed with pride."

Nolan said, "They might want to call it 'the T-shirt that sexually
irresponsible males want to see their ex-girlfriend in.'"

She added, "It's difficult to understand how Planned Parenthood can say that
abortion is always a difficult choice, and then encourage women to wear their
'choice' on their shirt. How about a line of shirts for men that says, 'My
ex-girlfriend got an abortion because I made her?'"

Crossroads, which was founded in 1994 in Steubenville, Ohio, has sponsored
walks to "witness to the sanctity and dignity of all human life, from
conception until natural death." The group is sponsoring two walks this year -
one from San Francisco and one from Los Angeles. Both will conclude in
Washington, D.C. on Aug. 15.

"Some of the women we come in contact with on the walk have had abortions and
have required a long process of spiritual and psychological healing through
counseling programs, such as Rachel's Vineyard," said Elizabeth Daub, a
two-time walker.

"One of the most flagrant contradictions in Planned Parenthood's message is
revealed by the fact that so many women we meet say, 'I didn't have a choice.'
That's the real tragedy. Women do have a choice, and the right choice is always
life," she said. "Abortion hurts women. It's that simple.

STOPP officials are willing to pay all expenses to travel to any Planned
Parenthood clinic in the United States to do a one-day education program for
employees and volunteers of the abortion provider to show them the true nature
and history of the organization.

"When people know the truth, they recognize that Planned Parenthood is not a
benevolent healthcare organization, but rather, a lucrative business that
profits from selling sex and aborting babies," said Sedlak.

Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.

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