THE WEDNESDAY STOPP REPORT

Girls, Inc. partners with Planned Parenthood

There has been extensive coverage of the fact that the American Girl doll company is giving funds to Girls, Inc. - an organization that openly supports abortion. STOPP has done some investigation and we can tell you that Girls, Inc. has partnered with Planned Parenthood on a number of projects. For example:

• Planned Parenthood Federation of America reports on its website that Girls, Inc. joined PPFA in sponsoring National Sexuality Education Month.
• Planned Parenthood Golden Gate reports that Girls, Inc. partnered with PPGG in sponsoring the fourth annual Young Women's Health Conference in April, 2005.
• Girls, Inc. joined a large number of Planned Parenthood affiliates in signing an ACLU-sponsored letter to Congress questioning abstinence-only sex education programs.

STOPPers all across the country are encouraged to let your local retailers know that you will not be buying American Girl dolls until they sever their relationship with Girls, Inc.

Beware new Planned Parenthood mentoring program

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England has made public its plans to launch a new "mentoring program" in the Burlington, Vermont area in February, 2006.

According to published reports, the goal of the program is for "college students to build relationships with high school students that lead to positive discussions of sexuality and making healthy informed choices about sexual health."

The first part of the program is to indoctrinate the college students into the sick philosophy of Planned Parenthood. All college "mentors" must go through a training program. The training consists of an eight-week program (three hours each week) that covers effective communication, active listening, adolescent development and how to talk about difficult issues.

After the training, college students will be paired one on one with unsuspecting high school students who "have similar interests." Planned Parenthood spokesperson Kristin Fontaine says that she understands that these types of personal and sensitive conversations can't be forced, but hopes that once a trust relationship has been established, the students will feel comfortable talking to their mentors about these issues. Fontaine then confirmed the ever-present do-your-own-thing philosophy of Planned Parenthood as she told reporters, "mentors are not there to give their own values around when to have sex and issues like that." According to Fontaine, mentors are just there to listen and provide support.

Fontaine says there has been a surprisingly enthusiastic response, mainly from University of Vermont students, but also some from St. Michael's College. Newspaper reports say that if you would like more information, contact Kristin Fontaine.

STOPP calls your attention to two points:

• This is the type of program PP likes to spread across the country. So we would recommend STOPPers in college towns everywhere be on guard for similar programs.
• Statistics show that many sexual predators of young girls are in their early twenties. Any program that encourages college students to talk about sex with underage girls should be viewed with great suspicion by local law enforcement.

Planned Parenthood organizational and facility changes

• Iowa - Planned Parenthood has moved to a new clinic at 35th Street and First Avenue N.E. in Cedar Rapids.
• Idaho - Planned Parenthood's clinic in Boise has begun doing surgical abortions.
• Oregon - Planned Parenthood Express office opened in Junction City.
• Virginia - Planned Parenthood in Lynchburg celebrates 10th anniversary.

Recent Planned Parenthood news item links

Each month we present links to recent stories about Planned Parenthood. (Note that many newspapers move web pages. The links below were working at the time this report was initially sent.)

• Planned Parenthood leading fight against parental notification:
  • California
  • New Hampshire
• Planned Parenthood objects to abstinence message in California school
• Boston Globe columnist says it is "easier to ignore Planned Parenthood"
• Planned Parenthood says new Missouri law could "financially cripple" some affiliates
• Alexander Sanger tells PP audience, "We've got to be rid of the shame" concerning abortion
• Planned Parenthood criticized in Cincinnati paper for response to lawsuit and for abortion practices
• Planned Parenthood giving sex seminar to gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender, intersex, questionable and allied students

STOPP speaking engagements

STOPP's directors, Jim Sedlak and David Bereit, give talks around the country on Planned Parenthood. Our current schedule is always posted on our web site. To schedule a talk in your area, please call our offices at 540-659-4171 or e-mail us. We have the following talks coming up; please say "hello" if you attend any of these presentations:

• October 27, 2005 - David Bereit, Crisis Pregnancy Center of Grand Prairie, Grand Prairie, Texas
• November 3, 2005 - David Bereit, Helping Hands Pregnancy and Parenting, Oakhurst, California
• November 4, 2005 - David Bereit, Helping Hands Pregnancy and Parenting, Coarsegold, California

Teen birthrate down

The rates of teen births and teen abortions have fallen dramatically in the United States. Between 1991 and 2000, the birth rate among female teens (ages 15 to 19) in declined 23 percent. Planned Parenthood, of course, is trying to take credit for this decline. But, we ask you to look at what was different in the country's approach to the teen pregnancy problem in the 1990s. The answer is an emphasis on chastity and abstinence.

We believe it is not a coincidence that when our society started giving a real pro-chastity message to teens and began activities such as chastity pledges and "just say no" education, that teens responded by living up to the expectations. The teen pregnancy rates are down in spite of Planned Parenthood. If you want to lower teen promiscuity in your town, get rid of the PP sex education programs.

Judge: Planned Parenthood violated state law

Ramsey County, Minnesota district judge David Higgs has ruled Planned Parenthood of Minnesota violated state law when it performed an abortion on a 17-year-old girl in 2002 without notifying her parents. He rejected PP's argument that the state law definition of an emancipated minor who does not need parental consent for an abortion includes girls who have previously borne a child.

The ruling came this month in a lawsuit filed against Planned Parenthood by the parents of the girl. John Angell, an attorney representing the girl's parents, told reporters that that Higgs ruled correctly and that the case should proceed to a trial on the amount of damages the parents should receive. They are seeking more than $50,000.

Planned Parenthood will appeal the ruling.

Planned Parenthood now runs only abortion clinics in Missouri

According to an October 20 article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, as of Wednesday (10/19), Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and its Kansas City-based counterpart apparently operate the only abortion clinics in Missouri. Paula Gianino, chief executive for Planned Parenthood's St. Louis operations, told the paper that a for-profit group operating the state's only other abortion clinic, in Springfield, Mo., has closed its doors.

Pro-lifers in Missouri have been successfully fighting Planned Parenthood for years and now all pro-lifers in the state can join together in a concerted effort to close the PP abortuaries in St. Louis and Columbia.

Back issues of the Wednesday STOPP Report.