"Planned Parenthood has concocted one of its most shameless schemes ever for using our own tax dollars to corrupt our children," said Ed Szymkowiak, national director of STOPP International (a project of American Life League). "But this outrage will provide the new Republican-controlled Congress with an immediate opportunity to live up to its pro-life, pro-family promises and stop it."
Planned Parenthood proposed that some teens from each of the high schools in Morrow County, Ohio, be paid $100 to be trained as outreach workers -- and that the teens receive an additional $5 for every patient they recruit for the new Planned Parenthood clinic in Cardington.
Local pro-lifers provided STOPP with a copy of a signed agreement between Morrow County Job and Family Services and Planned Parenthood, as well as a copy of the Planned Parenthood application for a "Wellness Program" grant. The stated "desired outcome" on the Planned Parenthood application is to "maximize the number of teens who practice birth control." A member of the Wellness Program Committee told STOPP the grant funding is from the federal/state Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program via the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
"People across the country need to contact their Congressmen to demand that the TANF program be amended so that none of its money may be allotted for birth control programs," said Szymkowiak. "Otherwise, Planned Parenthood can abuse this program to force taxpayers to pay teens to recruit other teens to become Planned Parenthood customers. These new teen customers will then be subjected to Planned Parenthood's promotion of teen sex and abortion."
Release issued: 25 Nov 02
