Grand Illusions by George GrantThe Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) operated, in 1994, a total of 922 facilities around the United States. Approximately 112 of these facilities killed preborn children on site while the remainder offered various products for sale, including abortifacients such as the Pill, the IUD, Norplant and Depo-Provera.
PPFA wants to expand its operations. It wants to offer more products and services. In addition, PPFA wants to add another 1,000 facilities between 1995 and 2000.
Given these expansion plans by PPFA, more and more citizens across the United States are going to be faced with the prospect of having to deal with a Planned Parenthood office in their town. Both American Life League and STOPP International have witnessed an increase in calls for help from people who have been told that "Planned Parenthood is coming to town." The callers all have the same question: "What can I do about it?"
This booklet is intended to answer that question.
The booklet is divided into three parts.
Part I is intended to help people who do not yet have a Planned Parenthood facility in their town and want to keep PPFA out.
Part II is intended for those who already have a Planned Parenthood facility. It builds on the tactics of Part I to let you know what you can do to legally disrupt Planned Parenthood's business in your town.
Part III tells you how to keep informed about Planned Parenthood and the successful ways of countering its efforts.
As George Grant pointed out in his book Grand Illusions, the fight against Planned Parenthood is a religious one. Planned Parenthood is in the business of spreading the ideas and philosophies of the Humanist Manifestos to the community in general and to our children in particular. It is strongly suggested, then, that, as you prepare to fight Planned Parenthood, you read the Gospel of St. Matthew, Chapter 10. In this chapter, Christ gives you the basic instructions on how to spread His word. These instructions fit well into the fight against Planned Parenthood. Those who rely on God and follow Matthew 10 will see positive results-if they will persevere.
We also suggest that you read some of the material available that will inform you of what Planned Parenthood is all about. Some of the books currently available are:
Grand Illusions by George Grant
Blessed Are the Barren by Robert Marshall & Charles Donovan
Inside Planned Parenthood by Douglas Scott
Margaret Sanger: Father of Modern Society by Elasah Drogin
Parent Power!! by James W. Sedlak
Brochures available from American Life League:
Humanist Manifesto 1 & 2
A History of Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood: It's Not What You Think
Planned Parenthood: The Abortion Eugenic Connection
Who Was Margaret Sanger?
Defeating Planned Parenthood's Public School Sex Education Programs
Defeating Government Funding of Planned Parenthood
We hope that the information contained in the following pages will be helpful to you. It is based on actual experience in fighting Planned Parenthood programs and facilities. In an effort to keep this booklet short, we have omitted many anecdotes and lengthy explanations-opting instead for short, concise advice.
What you should know, before you begin, is that you can win!
Many communities have kept Planned Parenthood out and others have been successful in getting Planned Parenthood to leave. To be successful you need faith in God, and you must be persistent. Whenever you have moments of discouragement, re-read Matthew 10 and you will know that God will grant you victory in the end.
God bless you for your willingness to take up this cross.
Very often, the first thing you hear about Planned Parenthood coming to your town is a small item in the local newspaper. In general, most initial thrusts of Planned Parenthood involve, in some way, teen pregnancy. Either it is claimed that your town has a high teen pregnancy rate and "needs" Planned Parenthood's services, or there is a growing "demand" for sex education, and Planned Parenthood offers to fill the "need."
However you hear about it, once you have some indication that Planned Parenthood is trying to come to town, there are some things you should do immediately.
If you are alone in your concern about Planned Parenthood, try to get one or two other people to work with you. If an existing group wants to take up the fight, then you can work for them and help lead the effort. If no existing group wants to do it, you can work as individuals or form a group. You should call the group "Concerned Citizens of _____" or "STOPP [Stop Planned Parenthood] of _____" or any name you feel appropriate. Although you can work as individuals, we recommend either working through an existing group or starting your own.
Before starting, it is important for you to realize that most people in your town either have not heard of Planned Parenthood, or have some idea that it is a benevolent group. Most people in your town are not aware of the background, philosophies and programs of Planned Parenthood. Most do not know that it is a group that will come between parents and children. Most are not really aware of its dedication to killing preborn children.
Therefore, your first effort should be one of education. You must reach out to your community and alert them to the coming danger of Planned Parenthood. This education should take several avenues:
Clergy-Planned Parenthood will typically seek the support of local clergy members. It contacts clergy of the Unitarian Fellowship, the Episcopal Church and many other small churches and denominations. It will eventually try to recruit members for a "clergy committee." Planned Parenthood reasons that, if it can get clergy support, it can stop much potential opposition among the population.
To head off this effort, you should immediately begin an education campaign among the local clergy. Circulate copies of the Humanist Manifestos and point out that Alan Guttmacher (former head of PP) was a signer of the second Manifesto and that Margaret Sanger and Faye Wattleton (both also former heads of PP) won awards for spreading its doctrine. Get copies of various brochures on Planned Parenthood and give them to your clergy.
Give talks to local clergy groups and even invite anti-PP speakers (see Part III) to talk to the clergy. Ask the clergy to speak about the evils of Planned Parenthood in their sermons; support a general information campaign; and see if the local clergy councils will pass resolutions opposing Planned Parenthood's entry into your town.
School officials-One of the major targets of Planned Parenthood is your schools. PP sees the schools as an ideal way to get to your children and influence their thinking. As soon as you hear that Planned Parenthood wants to come to town, check out your local schools. Look at the health curriculum in the fifth and seventh grades and see if there is any PP influence already there. Check books and pamphlets in the school library and see if PP has gotten a foothold.
If you find anything, you should get it out. The book Parent Power!! and the pamphlet "Defeating PP's Public School Sex Education Programs" (both available from American Life League) will guide you through this effort.
If Planned Parenthood is not in your schools, take the steps necessary to keep them out. Educate your school administration and your school board. Tell them of the utter failure of PP sex education programs and of the opposition in the community to any PP participation in the schools. Again, schedule talks to the school officials and bring in outside speakers if the officials are willing to listen. At the very minimum, invite the school administration and the school board to any public rally or information night you schedule (see below).
If you sensitize the school officials to the fact that the community is opposed to PP, you will go a long way towards keeping it out of your schools.
The general public-You should begin a thrust to get the entire town informed about Planned Parenthood. There are many ways you can do this...
A. Letters to the Editor-One of the best ways is by writing informative letters to the editors of your local newspapers. Give facts about Planned Parenthood and its founder Margaret Sanger.
B. Literature-You should schedule regular distribution of anti-Planned Parenthood literature in your town. If there is a street fair or other such activity, set up an information table. Stand on street corners and distribute the information to people. Mail anti-PP literature to area residents. In general, get out the word about Planned Parenthood.
C. Signs-In Rapid City, South Dakota, Planned Parenthood announced in 1989 it was coming to town. Due to the efforts of pro-lifers, in 1994 it still had not made an appearance. One of the things done by Rapid City folks was to get a four-foot by eight-foot sheet of plywood. They painted it yellow on both sides and then painted in black letters "Planned Parenthood-It's Not What You Think" They then mounted this sign on a trailer and hauled it all over town. It would show up in different parking lots and on different streets. It was hard to escape the moving sign, and the message got out.
D. A rally or information night-After you have begun to sensitize the community about Planned Parenthood, you should schedule a rally or information night. Bring in one or more speakers from out of town (see Part III) and really inform the community about PP. This can be a media event and it is suggested that you have as many groups as possible work together. As part of the rally, have choirs from several churches sing hymns and have other groups in town provide refreshments or other necessities.
Petitions-As part of all the efforts you undertake, we recommend you always have a petition for people to sign. It need not be anything fancy. A sheet of paper with the statement "We, the undersigned, do not want Planned Parenthood in our schools or in our town" is all that is needed. If you want, you can have specialized petitions for each group. This could easily be done by inserting a word in the statement as follows:
"We, the undersigned clergy, do not..."
"We, the undersigned teachers, do not..."
"We, the undersigned students, do not..."
"We, the undersigned citizens, do not..."
You get the idea. Whether you have one petition or many specialized ones, always leave room for each person's signature, printed name and address. These are not "official" petitions, so there is no special requirement for people to sign. They can be signed by teens, children, senior citizens, and anyone else in town. We recommend that you ask the people not to sign more than one petition.
Once signed, these petitions can be copied, and copies can be given to school officials, political leaders, health officials, etc. Also, you can use the petitions to create a mailing list for your newsletter.
Newsletters-We recommend your group publish a quarterly newsletter to keep people informed. Your newsletter should be mailed to all who signed your petitions plus all others you want to keep up to date.
Businesses-Local businesses should be contacted and be informed about the community opposition to Planned Parenthood. Special attention should be given to landlords, real estate offices, insurance companies and local hospitals. Planned Parenthood will need the services of at least some of these businesses if it is to come to town. By educating them early, you may be able to make it difficult for PP to find a place to do business.
Your local fighters against Planned Parenthood are always making decisions about what businesses to use in their daily living. Let businesses know you will publish a list of supportive businesses in your newsletter. Also, that you will publish a list of any businesses that choose to do business with Planned Parenthood. You would expect your local fighters against Planned Parenthood to use these lists when making decisions.
Politicians and health officials-Similarly, you should alert your local elected officials and health officials about the community feeling concerning Planned Parenthood. They should be invited, along with school officials, to your rally and information nights.
The more these people are aware of the community opposition to Planned Parenthood, the less likely they are to welcome PP into town.
By actively opposing Planned Parenthood, you may be able to prevent it from coming to town. A number of communities have been successful in doing just that. If, however, despite your best efforts, Planned Parenthood does set up an office in town, do not despair! The fight is not over. There are still things you can do to convince Planned Parenthood that coming to your town was a bad decision. Part II of this booklet will tell you what you can do next.
You have a Planned Parenthood facility in town. Either it's been there for many years, or it just opened up. Maybe you have been fighting its coming and, despite your best efforts, it is here. There are a number of legal, non-violent actions you can take to lessen Planned Parenthood's business and make it think about leaving.
Education-the first thing you should do is start educating your community. If you have not had any of this activity in your community before, read Part I of this booklet for all the things you can do. We will assume in this section of the booklet that you have already begun doing the things outlined in Part I.
Picketing-The single most effective thing you can do to fight an existing Planned Parenthood facility is to establish a regular (at least weekly) picket. This single act will lower PP's business, tarnish its community image, and result in increased public attention to its programs and philosophies. All these effects will work to your benefit.
The more frequently you can picket PP's offices, the better. However, you should at least plan a weekly, two-hour picket. When you picket weekly, you do not need large numbers. The frequency will have its effect and will cause morale and business problems for PP.
Most Planned Parenthood facilities do not perform surgical abortions (all do give out the Pill, Norplant and Depo-Provera and, therefore, are providing the means for chemical abortions). If your PP does not do surgical abortions, your pickets should concentrate on chemical abortions (primarily targeting the Pill) and the fact that PP comes between parents and their children.
Access to kids-Planned Parenthood is anxious to get to teens and younger children. It often establishes programs in schools and with the YWCA, Girl Scouts, Big Brothers, Big Sisters and anywhere else kids, especially teens and pre-teens, gather. You should investigate each of these organizations in your town and, if you find PP involved, get it out. You can use any of the techniques described in this booklet to lessen PP's influence and get it "uninvited" to the group.
Access to money-Planned Parenthood needs money to operate and is very good at getting money from the government. You should investigate your local city, town and county governments and determine if any money is going to Planned Parenthood. The pamphlet "Defeating Government Funding of Planned Parenthood" will give you step-by-step information on how to identify and defeat government funding of Planned Parenthood.
Newsletters-Once you start fighting against an already established Planned Parenthood facility, you should send a monthly newsletter to your supporters and all who sign your petitions. The newsletter need be nothing fancy, but it should keep your people informed on what is happening. It can be used to notify them of weekly and special pickets, tell them of upcoming critical dates, and relate any successes you have experienced. In addition, you can include some national information on PP (you can get this from THE RYAN REPORT or other publications) to let people know that others across the country are fighting PP and that they are not alone.
All the activities mentioned thus far will help defeat Planned Parenthood in your town. This section is intended to advise you on publications and organizations that can help you keep informed about Planned Parenthood and help you educate your local community.
The following organizations spend much (or all) of their time tracking and fighting Planned Parenthood:
STOPP INTERNATIONAL (P.O. Box 8, LaGrangeville, NY 12540) focuses exclusively on Planned Parenthood activity in North America and publishes a monthly newsletter called THE RYAN REPORT, which provides the latest on Planned Parenthood activity and what people are doing to successfully fight against PP. THE RYAN REPORT costs $25 per year and is a tremendous source of information for letters to the editor and items for your own newsletter. STOPP's President, Jim Sedlak, has written a book on fighting PP sex education; it is titled Parent Power!! Jim is available for speaking engagements. STOPP also offers a six-hour STOPP SEMINAR designed to educate your community on Planned Parenthood.
AMERICAN LIFE LEAGUE (P.O. Box 1350, Stafford, VA 22555) publishes a number of brochures on Planned Parenthood and has numerous articles about Planned Parenthood in its bimonthly magazine Celebrate Life. A.L.L. has been involved in fighting PP for many years and its president, Judie Brown, has debated the current and former PPFA presidents. Mrs. Brown is available for speaking engagements. Robert Marshall, a researcher for A.L.L., is co-author of the book Blessed Are the Barren, which details PP's rise to power. A.L.L. also maintains a speaker's bureau with speakers available on a variety of topics, including PP.
HUMAN LIFE INTERNATIONAL (7845-E Airpark Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20879) is described by the International Planned Parenthood Federation as the most dangerous group fighting PP thrusts around the world. HLI publishes a number of anti-PP pamphlets and its HLI Reports keep readers up to date on what PP is doing around the world. Father Paul Marx, chairman of HLI, and Fr. Matthew Habiger, HLI's president, are both available for speaking engagements.
LIFE DECISIONS INTERNATIONAL (P.O. Box 419, Amherst, NY 14226) focuses exclusively on Planned Parenthood. It coordinates the Corporate Funding Project and publishes a list of corporations that fund PP. It is in constant contact with the corporations and is "the source" for information on corporate funding of PP. Life Decisions International also publishes a bi-monthly newsletter called The Caleb Report, which gives information on its own activities and those of PP. LDI's President, Doug Scott, is the author of Inside Planned Parenthood. Both Doug and LDI's Executive Director, Patricia Bainbridge, are available for speaking engagements.
Other national and local groups are fighting Planned Parenthood in the United States. Many have people available for speaking. We suggest you subscribe to the publications of one or more of the organizations listed above and use the information received to plan your fight against PP in your town.
Remember, you are fighting for the minds and souls of your children. Be persistent and trust in God. He will see you through!
American Life League, Inc.
P.O. Box 1350
Stafford, VA 22555
(540) 659-4171
Cost: $2.00
© 1996, American Life League