First State for LIFE

Monday, March 25, 2013

Calling for Wilmington's Planned Parenthood Investigation (and closure).

Please, watch!

Delaware Right to Life officials call for an investigation and eventual closing of the Planned Parenthood on Shipley Street, in Wilmington, DE, as members have witnessed three patients being taken by ambulance from the clinic in just over a month’s time.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130321/NEWS/303210054/Anti-abortion-group-calls-Planned-Parenthood-investigation

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Planned Bullyhood: A Book Review

“Planned Bullyhood,” Karen Handel’s clear-eyed analysis of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure funding battle with Planned Parenthood, is vindication for all pro-lifers who already know that Planned Parenthood is a deceptive, vicious organization. Handel, former Senior Vice President of Komen, just had to learn it the hard way. Her book, released in early September, has been met with – wait for it – deafening silence from the media. Well-written and compelling from beginning to end, it presents a tale of two organizations, both ostensibly concerned about women’s health, who ultimately go to war with one another. Komen, unwilling to fight and unsure of their message, is no match for Planned Parenthood, who enlist the media, politicians, and vocal feminists to bully the breast health organization into submission.

Handel, an intelligent, capable woman whose many career successes – both in business and politics – positioned her perfectly to manage Komen’s public policy team, joined the organization in late 2010 after a bruising run for governor in Georgia. Her experience in the Georgia legislature as Secretary of State established her as a git-r-done kind of woman, a problem solver who liked challenges. Komen would be the biggest challenge of her life.

The foundation sought someone to tighten and clarify the quality of grants given out to organizations so that all would be going directly towards helping women affected by breast cancer or helping to prevent the disease. The concern with Planned Parenthood, who had been receiving grants from Komen affiliates for two decades, was that the organization should have already been disqualified as a grantee due to their lack of direct services (“pass-through” grants whereby money is given for services provided not by the grantee, but by an organization they refer clients to) and the fact that they were under investigation for fraud in multiple states. Changing the grant strategy to reflect this new focus was an agreed-upon tactic of Komen’s higher-ups, specifically Founder and CEO, Nancy Brinker, and President Elizabeth Thompson. Other players, such as Mollie Williams, managing director of community health and overseer of nearly $100 million community grant portfolio, Leslie Aun, vice-president of communications, and Katrina McGhee, executive vice-president of marketing, would emerge as either hostile or phlegmatic and confused, to the point Handel wondered whose side they were on.

That Planned Parenthood had been a thorn in Komen’s side for years is an eye-opener. Komen feared losing support from Catholic organizations who objected to grants going to the nation’s largest abortion provider. They also wanted to be free of the controversies associated with Planned Parenthood – multiple investigations into its policies that supported child predators, sex traffickers, sex selective abortions, and misuse of government funds. Komen had a pre-existing policy that halted grants when an organization was under investigation. Handel’s suggested strategy, to hammer away at the need to direct funds where they could do the most good for women, was a no-brainer. She warned of mentioning Planned Parenthood specifically, saying numerous organizations would be affected by the new policy. Unfortunately for her, vacillations over this policy, as well as leaks to the press suggesting Planned Parenthood would be targeted by Komen’s new policy led to a firestorm.

If any of you missed that particular brouhaha, shut my mouth. Planned Parenthood’s collective screeching was heard the world over, with CEO Cecile Richards repeating the lie ad nauseum that millions of women would be denied important services should Komen cut off Planned Parenthood’s funding. Among those services trumpeted by Richards were mammograms, something NO Planned Parenthood facility is equipped to do. The funding she so feared losing amounted to $700,000, a drop in the bucket of Planned Parenthood’s annual intake of $1 BILLION, more than half derived from U.S. taxpayers. What’s interesting is to read this through Handel’s eyes. With every betrayal by Komen staff, every lie by Planned Parenthood, and every complicit move by the media, we the readers see the scales falling. Unfortunately, she ends up as the sacrificial lamb of both organizations; but wiser, definitely wiser.

It’s incredibly gratifying to read Handel’s summation of Planned Parenthood’s reason for being: “Planned Parenthood is about politics as much as it is about abortion and reproductive health. Specifically, Planned Parenthood’s politics is about money – government funding, actually, because without the government funds, Planned Parenthood would be forced to pursue a different revenue model. The rhetoric on health, and especially women, is a smoke screen to hide its underlying political agenda – ensuring the continued flow of nearly $1.5 million a day in government funding and to elect pro-Planned Parenthood policy makers who, in turn, work tirelessly to keep the cash flowing.” Here’s someone in the public arena, not affiliated with any pro-life group, who finally gets it.

It’s also gratifying to read through the end notes and see whom she has cited for all the dirty facts about Planned Parenthood. It gives credence to LifeNews (specifically Steve Ertelt), Jill Stanek, and Lila Rose of LiveAction as some of the ONLY news outlets who are reporting on Planned Parenthood’s numerous and egregious deceptions. Her omission on the abortion/contraception-breast cancer link is disappointing, given that it is a chief complaint by pro-lifers against most breast cancer organizations, including Komen.

Through the brutal treatment by Planned Parenthood, Komen is nonetheless revealed as an organization whose leaders are indecisive, with no clear vision of what their organization stands for. They might have ridden out the storm, stared down the bully, and emerged victorious. That’s what Handel suggested.

--
Moira Sheridan
Secretary, Delaware Right to Life

Monday, October 1, 2012

Protesting Planned Parenthood: "There are too many people in the world. They should die!"

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to share with you all about Friday night..

It was a life changing experience for me in my work in the pro-life movement.

Friday night about 12 of us protested Planned Parenthood of Delaware's annual chocolate festival fundraiser. This was the first time I had protested at such an event. And truly, I was scared to go. I didn't know what to expect and was frightened at the thought of being close to people who could support such evil. I found myself making excuses that afternoon of why I couldn't go.

Thank God I offered it up to the Blessed Mother. She gave me strength! I went, and I remember on first sight of fellow pro-lifers and my friends (especially Moira and Dave) already lined up with signs at the entrance of PP's venue, I was filled with courage and conviction and even excitement. We were bringing truth with our witness!

We had signs showing various financial facts - " PP of Delaware made $2.4M from abortion services in 2012" etc. We also had a beautiful, large sign of the baby in the womb at 8 weeks of conception.

We were asked why we were there by one attendee. In his words, "you're not going to change anybody's minds!"

"Maybe not," we answered, "but we're showing you the truth of what you're supporting. We're making you uncomfortable."

Quick synopsis of happenings that night.. We were told WE should have been aborted by a man. One woman, after approaching us and speaking very softly trying to explain that PP offered many services for women, not just abortion, and being refuted by us with the hard facts, walked away and when she got to the door turned, clenched her fists, and screamed (this is not exaggerated): "There are too many people in the world!! They SHOULD die!" Others made classless comments and crude gestures.

Finally, the most powerful observation for me that night was I noticed the uber-wealthy status of the attendees to the gala: Porsche, Audi & Volvo SUVs, Mercedes, BMWs - a continuous stream of luxury cars pulling into the parking lot. (Though you should have seen their faces fall while pulling in as they realized what our signs stated.) And I thought of the disparity between the transparent wealth of those funding PP and the transparent poverty of the girls/women utilizing PP's services. Just the contrast of the women walking in Friday night drenched in diamonds wearing beautiful designer dresses with their husbands escorting them vs. the young girl limping out of PP after having an abortion, a haunted look in her eyes - all alone, with only a folder and a lifetime of regret and sadness after having made a tragic decision she can never take back. Perhaps a boyfriend leaning on a wall smoking a cigarette is the only support she has.

My other observation was the average age of the gala attendees was 75 years. Really. People old enough to know better, sometimes even walking in with canes and walkers, hobbled over, paying money and eating chocolate to enable the slaughter of little babies, of our youngest generation.

I just wanted to get these thoughts out there before too much time passed.

For Life,

Delia

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Stories from the Sidewalk- 40 Days for Life Fall Campaign 2012

Dear Friends,

I am writing this before leaving to go to Planned Parenthood on Day 2 of the Fall 2012 40 Days for Life campaign against abortion. I wanted to be more diligent in documenting our prayer vigil this time around. Yesterday was a beautiful day, both weather-wise and participant wise. Today the skies are cloudy and an hour ago it was pouring rain. I am not looking forward to going out in this, so I thought I'd cheer myself up by posting some pix from yesterday's event.

Most of these are posed photos. Only a few of them show us at prayer, but prayer was the heart of yesterday's vigil. It is the heart of every vigil. We had one woman who had never been to a 40 Days vigil before, and was apprehensive. She had come with her husband on days that the Knights of Columbus pray and vigil outside of PP, so she was not completely new to sidewalk witness and public prayer. Still, she felt nervous but believed that the Lord was calling her to be more visible in her witness to the goodness of life and the intrinsic evil of abortion, So she came. And prayed. And will return.

We talked to a lot of folks passing-by today, and to some of the clients going in to Planned Parenthood, One of the pix above shows Pat Radell, our Fearless Leader, explaining the Our Lady of Guadalupe image to a gentleman who stopped by to query its meaning, and snap his own photos of it. Brother James, an artist working at Creative Vision Factory, stopped to offer first encouragement, and then prayer.

And then there was L. L. is a thin, pale, freckled 15 year old who came yesterday to Planned Parenthood for a pregnancy test. Julie talked to her about going to Birthright for a free pregnancy test, and she thought that was a good idea so I drove her.

On the way she asked me, "What day is today?"

I said, "September 26."

"I had sex on the 23rd. Do you think they can tell yet if I am pregnant?"

I didn't think so, but I asked instead why it was so important to her to find out immediately - had she had unprotected sex and was she extremely worried?

"No, I want to be pregnant. I hope the test is positive."

Her story came out in pieces. She was 15, until recently she had resided in a state mental facility, she was a ward of the state, she had run away from her mother and she wanted to prove that she could be a better mother than her own, who had told her, "You should never have been born." She was lonely, had nobody to depend on but her boyfriend, who was excited about becoming a father and who had asked her to marry him. She had been with him for 3 weeks, but knew him growing up. He is 21.

Pray for L., please. She believes that a baby is just what she needs in her life, and was very upset when the pregnancy test came up negative. She is going to keep in touch with the good folks at Birthright, and she and I exchanged information. She just wants something to turn out right for her, she says.

Pray that she stays in touch, that she finds the resources she needs to make it through a tough, impetuous adolescence. That her case worker is both compassionate and wise. That she navigate the streets of loneliness and find shelter for her body, mind and heart. That she will look out for herself, and be looked out for, safely. She is stubborn (self-admittedly) and is tired of everyone telling her what to do. Isn't that true of all 15 year olds? Pray that she not be lost in the shuffle, and that we act properly as Christ for her, respecting her freedom while offering her connections to support systems that will help.

Rae Stabosz - Newark, DE