THE STOPP REPORT

Read that again. The American tax-payers—you and me—are paying PP up to $15 million to provide free birth control products to people engaging in sexual activity.

Obviously, PP is having trouble attracting enough customers to justify the $15 million, so it created the Joe Sperm ad campaign to bring customers to its doors. Just in case you think that PP is only targeting adults, the same report says:

"We've already had parents tell us that when their children saw the Joe Sperm character, they started asking questions that gave them a perfect opportunity to discuss sexuality issues with them," Sheppard said. "That's exactly what we hoped would happen."

Exactly! PP has created a cartoon character that will cause even young children to become interested in sex.

It is obvious that PP was inspired by tobacco's Joe Camel ad campaign. Joe Sperm is even wearing the same "cool" sunglasses. This is an outrage.

But not everyone is happy to see Joe Sperm. On Sept. 20, KMTR News Source 16 of Eugene had a story on its web page that contained the following comments by Terry Ianora.

"Well, it is 'in your face' and it's also very undignified. I think it's not an ethical way to approach this for young kids, and this is not something that I want my son to be involved with. Something about a sperm and an egg is something that should be taken with much more privacy, to be relegated to a place in the family where a child can talk to his parents.

"Mother and dad have a right and a duty to talk to their own children, and not some strange organization that has an agenda ... that wants to sell contraceptives and also wants to provide abortion."

Thank God for people like Terry Ianora who speak the truth in this pathetic situation. But Terry and other parents in the area will be stuck with Joe Sperm for quite a while. PP said that he will be making many more public appearances.

And should Joe Sperm run into any opposition, the ACLU has pledged to assist him. That's right. Beth Andrus, the president of the ACLU in Washington, spoke about Joe Sperm when she gave the keynote address at the 1999 annual dinner for Planned Parenthood of Spokane (Washington), the originators of Joe Sperm. She began a rather lengthy speech with "I thought that no one better than Joe Sperm could illustrate the fundamental link between freedom of speech and reproductive rights." In her closing she said, "The ACLU stands ready to assist you and Joe Sperm in this fight."

If you are as outraged as we are about this latest attempt by Planned Parenthood to make a joke out of the sacred union between a man and a woman, there are some things you can do:

• STOPP contacted the Lane Transit city bus line and found out that they have been getting a lot of calls complaining about the Joe Sperm ads on the buses. STOPP supporters can join the protest by calling the bus line at 541-682-6100. You can also write in a complaint to Lane Transit, P.O. Box 7070, Eugene, OR 97401.

• In September, STOPP contacted the Eugene chamber of commerce and we were told that it had yet to take a position on the ads since the issue surfaced between board meetings. It did say that it could possibly take a position in the future. You can contact the chamber offices and let them know that you would never consider a vacation to Eugene as long as you or your children could be exposed to the offensive Joe Sperm ads on the city buses. Their address and phone number is: 1401 Willamette St., Eugene, OR 97401 and 541-484-1314. You can e-mail the chamber's president, Dave Hauser, at: daveh@eugene-chamber.com

• All STOPP supporters can contact their members of Congress to protest the use of the Joe Sperm character in connection with taxpayer-funded projects. Tell your elected officials you want them to cut off all money to an organization that would implement a program such as this.

• This Joe Sperm project originally began in Washington state and has now spread to Oregon. PP has indicated that affiliates are free to use Joe Sperm elsewhere around the country, as this ad campaign was the winner of the 1999 national Planned Parenthood award for marketing. STOPP supporters in other states should alert their state and local government officials and warn them that the program could be spreading across the country.

You have to wonder about the kind of mentality that must exist at PP for them to come up with these programs. Please pray for PP people, that God will open their minds and hearts and let them see the evil that they are doing. With God's help, these people can be brought out of darkness and into His loving care.

PP fighting to defeat informed consent

During the past election, voters in Colorado had an opportunity to vote on Amendment 25, a proposal requiring a 24-hour waiting period for abortion and also requiring counseling for women considering abortion.

Opponents of this measure began an abortion rights campaign committee, the Protect Families, Protect Choice Coalition. As of September 8 (two months before the vote), the committee had total contributions of $145,007.

Most of their contributions were from people giving $100 or less. The NARAL Foundation of Washington, D.C., which gave $25,000, and the Ms. Foundation for Women from New York City, which contributed $15,000, were the largest cash contributors. U.S. Rep. Mark Udall (D-Boulder) kicked in $50.

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains donated $84,686 in like contributions of office space and equipment, according to the committee's campaign finances report.

March of Dimes

STOPP received the following letter from one of our supporters:

The March of Dimes recently approached me (by mail) for donations. I noticed they had a March of Dimes web site, so I decided to ask them if they were associated with Planned Parenthood, or if they have participated in any lab tests with fetal tissue.

Well, the answer was yes to both questions. The March of Dimes claimed that they are not involved with the abortion aspect of Planned Parenthood. They did say that they work with PP in other health areas as well as donating funds, and that the use of these funds was closely monitored. Concerning fetal tissue testing, they claim that medical science has benefited greatly from this research. The slogan on their donation envelope reads "Saving babies, together," but they claim to be "neutral" on the abortion issue.

I want to put my consumer and charitable donations where they will do the most good. Can you folks refer me to a resource or web site that might help inform me of who is on our side and who isn't? May God bless your work

—Tim

Yes, Tim, we can. You can get the Pro-Life Shoppers Guide on the web, or order it by sending a check for $26 to the St. Antoninus Institute, 4110 Fessenden St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016.

By the way, Tim Hammond and his brother Rick are "The Hope Peddlers," Christian musicians who invite readers to visit their website.

PP using sign ordinances to hide truth

Most communities across the United States have sign ordinances. These are local laws aimed at controlling the permanent signs erected by businesses. Planned Parenthood has long been upset about pro-lifers holding signs, which tell the truth about abortion and PP, outside its clinics. Now it appears PP is trying to use sign ordinances to harass pro-lifers.

In Burlington, Iowa, pro-lifer Donna Benson has been frequently harassed by local police, who are apparently doing PP's bidding. Donna is one of the most active fighters against Planned Parenthood in the country. A fearless warrior, she carries her large signs against abortion and PP all over the eastern portion of the state. A recent picture in a newspaper article showed Donna surrounded by three members of the Burlington police department. The police were ordering her to remove her signs from public property because they blocked the view. However, these are signs one woman can carry by herself.

In a similar incident in Waco, Texas, pro-lifer Carolyn Knowles was praying in front of the PP abortuary when local police arrived to accuse her of breaking the law. A small pro-life sign was leaning against a nearby telephone pole on public property, and, according to police, this is a violation of Waco's new sign ordinance.

It is imperative that pro-lifers become familiar with attempts by local communities to restrict their First Amendment rights. Although communities can pass ordinances for signs at commercial businesses, they are restricted in what they may do about efforts to get out information in a non-commercial way. If these laws are being passed in your community, get a good local lawyer and challenge their applicability to free speech. The people in the two cases above are both doing this. We must all fight for our rights or we will lose them.

Archbishop calls PP "front" for abortion industry

Archbishop Elden Francis Curtiss issued a pastoral letter entitled, "We are a pro-life people in a pro-life Church," which was printed in the Archdiocese of Omaha's newspaper, The Catholic Voice, on Sept. 1. STOPP obtained permission to reprint this entire letter.

In the conclusion, Archbishop Curtiss called Planned Parenthood a "front" for "a multimillion dollar abortion industry."

The president of the local PP, Steven Emmert, responded to the Archbishop's comment by denying that PP was a front.

STOPP has thanked Archbishop Curtiss for proclaiming the truth about Planned Parenthood and we hope you will do the same. Let him know that you will not cease to confront the evil of Planned Parenthood in your city and neighborhood. His address is 100 North 62nd St., Omaha, NE 68132-2795.

We are pro-life people in a pro-life Church

A pastoral letter to the people of the Archdiocese of Omaha regarding the obligation of Catholics to actively oppose direct abortion in all circumstances.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church outlines the official teaching of the Church regarding the evil of abortion and the responsibility of Catholics to protect beginning human life:

#2270: Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you" (Jeremiah 1:5).

#2271: Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or means, is gravely contrary to the moral law. "You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish." (Didache 2,2).

#2272: Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to the crime against human life. A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae by the very commission of the offense (canons 1314-1398) and subject to the conditions provided in the Code of Canon Law (canons 1323-24). The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

#2273: The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation. "The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents: nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death. (Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith, Donum Vitae III 1987)

"The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined. As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be insured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child's rights." (ibid.)

#2274: Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being. Practical implications of this official teaching

To dissent against the official teaching of the Church regarding the serious evil of abortion creates a breach between Catholics and the Church and causes a serious scandal when it becomes public. Catholics who actually participate in a woman's decision to have an abortion share in her alienation from the Church because they share in the destruction of a beginning human life, which is forbidden by divine law and the natural law.

Consequently, I ask the people of this archdiocese to join me in challenging any Catholic who claims to be an active member of the Church and at the same time supports the right of a woman to have an abortion (pro-choice means essentially support for the right of a woman to terminate the life of her pre-born or partially-born baby). Such a person either does not know the clear teaching of the Church or is indifferent to it. This means an incorrectly formed conscience or ignorance of the law or rejection of Church teaching. In any case, these people are at loggerheads with the Church over a major doctrine of faith. They need conversion and reconciliation with the Church and a new heart.

I ask all our people to pray and fast in reparation for all the innocent lives that are destroyed daily by abortion.

I ask all our people to pray for the women and their families who suffer the personal tragedy of abortion. Pray for their reconciliation with the Church, with Jesus. Support Project Rachel and all similar efforts to help women overcome the impact of abortion in their lives.

I ask all our people to pray for abortionists and those who assist them so that their hearts of stone may be turned into human hearts before they face the God of life.

The Catholic Church is the main supporter of human life from conception to natural death in the world today. Despite the public media, which for the most part supports abortion as the right of women over their own bodies without any concern for the rights of their pre-born babies; despite massive opposition from a multimillion dollar abortion industry that has Planned Parenthood as a front; despite Supreme Court decisions that continue to leave pre-born and partially-born babies vulnerable to painful deaths, we Catholics must not cease our efforts to declare abortion a moral blight and a national scandal. We must not cease our efforts to confront the evil of abortion in our cities and neighborhoods. We must not cease our efforts to pray for an end to abortion on demand and the barbaric procedure called partial-birth abortion.

If we are constant in our prayers and steadfast in our opposition to abortion privately and publicly; if we continue to make our case for the continuum of human life from conception until birth from the scientific evidence; if we continue to proclaim the sacredness of human life from the Scriptures and the long tradition of the Church, then we will be able to change the minds and hearts of many people who are hesitant to grant inalienable rights to pre-born babies because of cultural pressure.

We must never give up on this sacred crusade to protect innocent human life in the womb. If we grow tired of the struggle or want to be free of the hassle, then the culture of death will continue to spread across our nation. It is up to us to make the case for the rights of pre-born babies based on God's revelation to us about the sacredness of human life. It is a duty no Catholic can shirk.

The Church is consistently pro-human life from conception until natural death. This is the reason that we oppose the death penalty as well as euthanasia and abortion. However, Catholic teaching does not weigh opposition to capital punishment the same way it weighs opposition to abortion.

The thousands of innocent pre-born babies killed every year by abortion constitute a greater evil than the execution of a few convicted felons by the state not only because of sheer number of deaths, but because of the gravity of the act itself.

Therefore opposition to abortion must be a priority for Catholics who support the Church's teaching about the sacredness of all human life.

—Archbishop Elden Francis Curtiss

Note: STOPP has developed a collection of statements by Catholic leaders concerning Planned Parenthood.

We would also like to get statements from leaders of other faiths. If you know of any such statements, please send them to STOPP headquarters.

Number of PP clinics

STOPP has completed a research project to identify every PP clinic in the country. The list below gives the numbers of PP clinics by state as of September 2000:

California 97 New York 88 Texas 84 Indiana 51 Ohio 50 Pennsylvania 46 New Jersey 34 Washington 31 Michigan 30 Wisconsin 29 Florida 25 Colorado 22 Illinois 22 Iowa 22 Minnesota 22 Missouri 19 Connecticut 18

Arizona 17 Vermont 13 Maryland 10 New Hampshire 9 North Carolina 9 Oregon 9 Virginia 9 Nebraska 8 Oklahoma 8 New Mexico 7 Kentucky 6 Utah 6 Delaware 5 Georgia 5 Montana 5 Tennessee 5 Alabama 4

Maine 4 Nevada 4 Alaska 3 Arkansas 3 Kansas 3 Massachusetts 3 Louisiana 2 South Carolina 2 South Dakota 2 Washington, D.C. 2 Idaho 1 Rhode Island 1 West Virginia 1 Wyoming 1 Hawaii 0 Mississippi 0 North Dakota 0

Total: 857 Planned Parenthood clinics

Note that over half of the PP clinics (450) are located in only seven states and three states are not plagued by the presence of any PP clinics. Please keep in mind that PP clinics are opening and closing all the time. This was the best information available in September 2000.

The number of PP clinics rose from under 820 in 1987 to a peak of nearly 940 in 1995. The late 90s saw a rapid decline in the number of PP clinics to about 850 in 1998 and 1999. This year's figures show a slight increase to 857. STOPP supporters are urged to increase their efforts to educate people about PP. Let's keep this slight increase from becoming a trend.

Recent PP mergers

In the course of compiling the chart above, four recent PP mergers came to light. The largest of these occurred in Indiana creating a new PP affiliate called Planned Parenthood of Greater Indiana with a total of 44 clinics. This affiliate now has the highest number of clinics of any affiliate.

The next highest is the 33 operated in California and Nevada by PP Mar Monte, Inc.

PP of Greater Indiana was created by the merger of PP of Central and Southern Indiana, PP Association of Northwest-Northeast Indiana, and PP of East Central Indiana. The combined 1997 income of these three PP affiliates was $15,856,996. At that rate, PP of Greater Indiana would be the 5th highest income-producing affiliate in the U.S.

In North Carolina, PP of the Triad merged with PP of the Southern Piedmont and Carolina Mountains to form PP of North Carolina-West with a total of five clinics.

In New York, PP Health Services of Northeastern New York and PP Association of the Mohawk Valley merged into PP of Mohawk-Hudson with a total of 13 clinics.

In Michigan, the one clinic of Upper Peninsula Planned Parenthood merged into Planned Parenthood Association-North Michigan, bringing its total up to three clinics.

The result of these mergers is that there are currently 131 affiliates of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Researchers promoting Scandinavian sex-ed model

Recently Reuters reported that researchers presenting at the World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics were advocating the Swedish and Dutch approaches to reducing teen pregnancy. They claimed a dramatic cut in the teen pregnancy rates in these countries due to school based sex education, effective contraceptive methods, and the availability of legal abortions.

They suggested the U.S. follow the Scandinavian example. One researcher said the number one priority for the U.S. was to develop a youth-to-youth sex education campaign.

Such claims, while certainly dangerous, are not new. Sweden's sex-ed program became compulsory in all Swedish schools in 1956. It was used as the blueprint by U.S. sex-ed promoters way back in the 60s and is still considered the model by many sexperts. It depends heavily on integration between the school and the birth control clinic and a socialist society saturated by a contraceptive/abortion mentality.

Professor Eric Brodin, a native of Sweden, wrote a series of essays explaining why he chose to leave Sweden. Entitled "Sweden's Family Policies: Lessons for America," Brodin says Sweden's sex-ed policies should be studied not to encourage their adoption but rather as examples of tragic failures which should be avoided by all means in the U.S. He describes a perfect "contraceptive society" obtained by a totalitarian socialism, which has stripped the country of essential freedoms and left it with the false freedom of sexual license.

Brodin describes an anti-family welfare state that has complete control of education. Private schools are practically non-existent due to a rigid and burdensome tax policy. The central bureaucracy dictates curricula. He says, "The school has become a tool to replace the traditional family structure of mother, father, child." Children stay in some schools from 8 AM until 8 PM. Certain textbooks must be kept in school so parents do not have access to them.

It is under these ideal conditions for the social engineers that children have been indoctrinated with a contraceptive mentality. But the sexperts don't tell you what Swedish society is like when they trot out the teen pregnancy stats. Yes, these children have become efficient at "contracepting," which often means killing the newly conceived human by preventing implantation.

Thus, they do have a lower surgical abortion and pregnancy rates per 1,000 women aged 15-19. But once they become pregnant they have an extremely high rate of killing the baby.

The second and third columns in the chart below were taken from The Guttmacher Report's June 2000 article entitled "Promoting Contraceptive Use and Choice: France's Approach to Teen Pregnancy and Abortion." STOPP calculated the last column by using the data in the previous two columns.

Thus 69 percent of Swedish teen pregnancies end in abortion compared to 34.9 percent of U.S. teen pregnancies.

The Netherlands has the lowest numbers in each category above. An article in the Dec. 1999 issue of Family Planning Perspectives sheds some light on what the Dutch are really doing. Entitled "Family Planning Services in Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention: The Views of Key Informants in Four Countries," it states: "In the Netherlands, emergency contraception has been used since 1964, is not considered an abortifacient and is considered acceptable for teenagers. By contrast, in the United States, emergency contraception has been considered an abortifacient by many members of both the professional and lay population, and is only now being packaged for more widespread use."

Thus, the Dutch keep their stats low by killing the conceived baby chemically before it is even counted as a teen pregnancy. Such early abortions don't show up in the abortion rate column either. As the U.S. embraces emergency contraception, we too may see a misleading drop in our stats. People will claim teen pregnancy and abortion are down, but in reality the baby was simply killed before it could be counted.

Finally, you should know that at the WCGO, where the pro-contraceptive researchers were pushing these Scandinavian sex-ed models, exhibitors included IPPF, UNFPA, and WHO. Several large pharmaceutical companies that have a financial interest in promoting contraceptive use were the sponsors of the WCGO.

Big PP layoff in Wisconsin

More good news from Wisconsin! STOPP supporters at Pro-Life Wisconsin sent in an article from the Milwaukee/Journal Sentinel (Sept. 27) that announced Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPW) is laying off 22 employees in the state, mostly in the Milwaukee area.

In addition, Judy Mann, PPW president, resigned in July because, according to the article, "she wanted a change of work." A national search is on for her replacement. Perhaps all STOPP supporters could say a prayer for Judy Mann and the rest of the PP employees who recently lost their jobs. Ask God to lead them to employment that will have nothing to do with PP and the evils it promotes.

The article states that PPW had 40 clinics five years ago and now operates 27. The loss of 22 employees will result in a total employment of about 278. This represents a seven percent decline.

As the Ryan Report Special Issue 2000 noted, for many years PPW was the number one affiliate in the U.S., but it recently fell to fifth place with a 1998 income of $15,131,211. The latest news from the Sentinel confirms this downward trend with a current budget listed at about $14 million. Pro-lifers in Wisconsin have conducted massive education campaigns against PP and it is obvious that the people of Wisconsin are listening. It just shows what is possible if pro-lifers are willing to consistently tell the truth about PP!

Christmas greetings

At Christmas, we celebrate Christ coming to our evil-plagued world as a little baby to save us.

Certainly the year 2000 has had its share of evils promoted by Planned Parenthood. The selling of baby parts, the Supreme Court's decision allowing partial birth abortion, and the FDA's approval of RU-486 are just a few. It's easy to get discouraged.

But we must remember that the faithful people of God have cried out against the evils of Planned Parenthood and that God has blessed their work. Today there are many school children who no longer have to put up with PP's sex-ed, there are counties and cities that no longer give money to PP, and there are people alive today because pro-lifers counseled their mothers in front of a PP abortion mill.

So during this Christmas season give thanks to God for these blessings and the greatest blessing of all, the Incarnation of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in a humble stable in Bethlehem. As a Christmas gift to our Savior, STOPP supporters are encouraged to use the Feast of the Holy Innocents, December 28th, as a day to remember, not only the innocent children slain by Herod (Mt. 2:16-18), but also the millions of innocent babies slain by abortion. It's a perfect day to spend some time in front of your local Planned Parenthood office in prayer as a visible witness to the sanctity of all human life.

We here at STOPP wish all of you a Holy Christmas and we hope that the Holy Spirit will bring you and your families the peace and love the Lord has promised. May God bless you all!

This month's action items