Planned Parenthood to build more facilities in Massachusetts and New York
Planned Parenthood continues to try to expand its operations. In 2007, PP opened 25 new clinic sites, but closed down 29. Thus, despite its efforts, it ended the year with fewer clinics.
Over the last few weeks, we have reported that, so far, three PP facilities have closed in 2008. But PP is hoping to open new clinics in Portland, OR; Denver, CO; and Houston, TX.
Now we have learned that PP is planning to build two more facilities.
One would be located at 470 Pleasant Street in Worcester, MA. Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts has purchased the land and plans to tear down an existing two-story building and replace it with a three-story abortion facility. When completed, the new facility will replace PP’s existing clinic at 631 Lincoln Street in Worcester. PP recently received local government approval for its parking lot plans.
PP also plans to build a new facility in Amsterdam, NY. PP hopes to locate it at Kem Plaza on State Route 30 in Amsterdam; however, PP still needs state approval. According to an article in the Schenectady, NY Daily Gazette, Paul Drisgula, chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson, said that he was in contact with “program personnel at the state and said he is expecting the process, which usually takes about nine months, will be sped up.” PP received $350,000 from the state for construction and expects the clinic to be open by the end of June.
Finally, word has reached us that PP plans to move its Gloversville, NY facility to Johnstown, NY.
PP’s movements in these areas gives the local pro-lifers a unique opportunity to act. Inform your communities with the truth about PP. Contact members of the building trades and let them know that if they work on PP’s sites, they will not be hired to do work at local homes, businesses and churches. This is the time to impact PP through prayerful, peaceful activities.
Planned Parenthood recommends porn to teens
For many years, we have reported to you on how Planned Parenthood tries to sexualize our young children. PP bombards them with examples of all types of sexual activity while repeatedly conveying the message that all of it is normal. One example of this can be seen on PP’s teen web site, Teenwire.com.
We came across an article written by Penny Starr, who describes in detail how Teenwire promotes the use of pornography to teens. She mentions a Teenwire article titled “Porn vs. Reality.” What purpose does an article about porn serve? None whatsoever, except to sexualize our teens! PP describes what porn is with anatomically correct, detailed descriptions.
Starr reports the following:
Another advice piece, “Porn vs. Reality,” warns that federal law makes it illegal for anyone under 18 to view pornography, “however, not everyone follows the rules, and you may run across some porn before you turn 18. There are a few things you should know about the images you might see. First of all, many people enjoy pornography alone or with a partner as part of sex play. People have different ideas of what is arousing, and there are many different kinds of porn that appeal to people’s different interests.”
Starr also quotes from several experts on the relationship between pornography and sexual addiction. Cris Clapp, congressional liaison for Enough is Enough, an organization working to protect children and families from online porn, said, “Overall teenwire.com has painted a picture that pornography is harmless fun.”
What can you do? Write to your members of Congress, sign the petition to stop the distribution of taxpayer funds to PP, write those letters to the editor, bring this information to your pastor, etc. For more ideas, read our three-part plan.
Dr. Alveda King tells Planned Parenthood to stop exploiting Martin Luther King, Jr.’s name
Planned Parenthood is promoting Black History Month on its web site. The problem here is that PP is using the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to falsely imply that he would support Planned Parenthood today.
In a press release sent out by Priests for Life, Dr. Alveda King, the slain civil rights leader’s niece, demanded that PP stop using his name and image on its web site:
Uncle Martin accepted an award from Planned Parenthood in 1966 when abortion was illegal in every state and before Planned Parenthood started publicly advocating for it. . . In 1966, neither the general public nor my uncle was aware of the true agenda of Planned Parenthood, an agenda of death that has become painfully obvious as the years have unfolded. . . There is no way he would want his name or image associated today with Planned Parenthood, the group most responsible for denying civil rights to the over 45 million American babies killed by abortion, one-third of them African-American.
Diocese issues statement against Susan G. Komen for the Cure
The Diocese of Little Rock came out with a statement earlier this month informing the public that they neither support nor encourage participation in activities that benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
The diocese does not support Komen because, in at least 22 states, it has provided large grants to Planned Parenthood, its web site “dismisses the link between procured abortion and increased risk of breast cancer” and it “endorses embryonic stem cell research requiring the destruction of embryonic human life.”
The diocesan Respect Life Apostolate encourages Catholics who want to support breast cancer research and treatment to instead donate to “local hospitals that provide breast cancer services.”
Pregnancy center has now moved in—two doors down from Planned Parenthood!
We reported in October 2007 that Highland LifeCare Center would be moving to a new location – just two doors down from Planned Parenthood of St. Paul in Minnesota. We are happy to report that they are now moved in!
The new location is at 1999 Ford Parkway. For more information, contact Highland LifeCare Center at info@highlandlifecare.org.
STOPP leads protest against Corpus Christi Planned Parenthood
On February 15, Jim Sedlak had the honor of leading a protest in front of the Planned Parenthood facility in Corpus Christi, TX. At a news conference held during the protest, Jim announced the formation of a new pro-life group, South Texas STOPP.
Jim reports that he was impressed with the enthusiasm and dedication of pro-lifers in Corpus Christi who have, over the years, seen eight of nine abortionists close their doors in this wonderful community. Now the community is turning its attention to PP.
Afterward, we received the following report from Ernest Pena of Corpus Christi, a South Texas STOPP member:
Due to a red light at the intersection, dozens of ALL pamphlets were handed out to cars stopped at the red light on the first Tuesday of this newly formed protest (Feb. 19, 2008). With God’s help and blessing, these protests will continue every Tuesday until both Planned Parenthood offices in Corpus Christi are closed. We have not yet begun to picket the second PP location, but we will soon begin to do so. South Texas STOPP would like to thank Jim Sedlak with your organization for coming to Corpus Christi to help start up our new STOPP chapter. In fact, Mr. Sedlak led the first PP protest held in Corpus Christi in years on Friday, Feb. 15, 2008 - which also included a press conference attend by all four local television stations and the local newspaper. We estimate our protest was seen by nearly 100,000 people that evening on the local television news. Please Pray For Us!
We are always encouraged when new people across the country take up the fight against PP. To have a speaker come to your town and help get things started, e-mail us at STOPP@ALL.org.
Planned Parenthood leaves Lehigh University
Planned Parenthood will no longer provide services at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. PP was offering biweekly visits to the campus, but has discontinued them due to a decrease in patient numbers. Praise God! PP is the last thing students need on their college campus!
