THE WEDNESDAY STOPP REPORT

Lessons from South Dakota

As you may have already heard, the South Dakota law banning all surgical and medical abortions in the state was defeated at the polls on November 7. While there was much support for the law, it received only 44 percent of the vote.

In analyzing the vote and reading the media interviews with many South Dakotans who voted, one thing became clear. The combination of the propaganda from Planned Parenthood and 34 years of national pro-life groups pushing for “exceptions” in every bill left the average pro-lifer in South Dakota somewhat confused. When faced with an ethical law that would have banned all medical and surgical abortions in the state without exception, many of the pro-lifers in the state were not ready to vote for it.

Exit interviews with voters had a number of them saying that they were against abortion, but felt this law went too far because it didn’t have exceptions for rape and incest.

This vote should be a clarion call for those who fight to save babies.

We will not win until we are able to get people to understand the undisputable fact that a human being becomes a human being at fertilization and must be entitled to all the rights of any other person in this country. We must fight to legally declare and protect the personhood of all preborn human beings.

The vote is not a condemnation of the people of South Dakota. Clearly, the legislators in the state understood the personhood of the preborn child when they passed this law. Clearly, pro-lifers across the state fought very hard to get this law upheld – and, if just 6 percent of the voters had changed their vote, the law would have been upheld. Clearly, we owe a debt of gratitude to Leslee Unruh and others in the state for bringing such a law through the legislature.

The vote is a condemnation of national pro-life groups who insist laws must allow for the killing of babies conceived as a result of rape and incest. Now is the time for the pro-life movement in the United States to understand that we must protect every child in every bill we propose and support. We must put personhood of the preborn child as the top priority.

American Life League has been the leader in this personhood fight for over a quarter century. We have a network of associate groups in a majority of the states that are all working hard to protect every baby, every time. As a result of the November elections, you can expect that we will:

• Continue to seek co-sponsors and work to garner support for the Right to Life Act among all national pro-life groups, leaders and professed pro-life members of Congress, while recognizing that a Congress controlled by pro-abortion politicians is unlikely to move it to a vote.
• Expand our efforts against Planned Parenthood – which clearly showed in South Dakota that it is the number one enemy of babies.
• Work to further expand our network of associates so that the personhood of the preborn is proclaimed in every state in this nation.
• Continue our outreach to the youth of this country who are the ones that will ultimately bring the protections of personhood to every child created by God.

We ask you all to join us in this fight and to renew your own dedication to fighting Planned Parenthood.

View a Planned Parenthood “teen theater” program

We frequently tell you how Planned Parenthood goes after our teens and indoctrinates them into PP’s uninhibited sex philosophy. There is a growing trend at Planned Parenthood affiliates to form “teen theater” groups where teens, trained by Planned Parenthood, travel to schools and other venues to put on programs.

Recently, such a teen presentation was captured on video and posted on the web. It happens to be put on by a group called “Insight Theater” sponsored by Planned Parenthood of Ottawa (Canada). But programs in America contain similar content.

We invite you to view the presentation (warning: not suitable for minor children).

Some notes on the presentation:

• In the middle of all the comedy routines is a "serious" date-rape monologue by a boy that, in the end, doesn't really make a point. Then it's back to the comedy stuff. Its inappropriate placement really negates the seriousness of the topic.
• In one skit, Dorothy tells Toto she's pregnant and is taken away to, not OZ but, "Optionsland." The Good Fairy of Optionsland tells Dorothy to see the Wizard about her unintended-pregnancy options. Along Options Road Dorothy runs into the Scarecrow, who tells her she can get an abortion at two Ottawa clinics. After lubricating a stuck Tin Man so he can speak, the Tin Man suggests adoption. The Cowardly Lion offers parenting. Dorothy is relieved to find the Wizard: "Now you can tell me what to do." The Wizard says, "I can't tell you that." Dorothy's new friends tell her, "The choice was yours all along."
• Abstinence comes at the end, is unintelligible in the form of a rap song, and suggests abstinence and values are what you define them to be.

According to the best information we can find, Planned Parenthood of Ottawa presents Insight Theater to grades 7-9. That means this program is being given to children 11-15 years old.

Rockland County seeks end to Planned Parenthood funding

The Rockland County, New York executive, C. Scott Vanderhoef, has proposed a budget for 2007 that, for the first time in years, does not contain specific funding for Planned Parenthood.

Instead, the $19,460 that had previously been allotted to Planned Parenthood Hudson-Peconic to pay for a Spanish-speaking PP employee would be rolled into a Department of Social Services grant that would be open to Planned Parenthood and any other groups in the family planning and health business.

Any organization could apply for the money to pay for a Spanish-language health care worker in the community.

This change represents a victory for pro-lifers in Rockland County who have fought for years to end the county funding of Planned Parenthood.

Amarillo down to one full-time and one part-time Panned Parenthood clinic

News from the Texas panhandle is that Planned Parenthood has closed its clinic in Cactus and now operates just one full-time clinic in Amarillo. In addition, it operates another clinic that is open only two days a week. This part-time clinic is called the Women’s Wellness Center. Planned Parenthood does not even identify this as a PP facility on its external signs.

Amarillo and the Texas panhandle had 19 Planned Parenthood clinics in 1997, but concerted efforts by pro-lifers have caused a one-by-one closing of the clinics so that it is now down to just these two.

Congratulations to all who work in the panhandle to oppose Planned Parenthood.

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