Abortion controversy 5

Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood dates its beginnings to October 16, 1916 when Margaret Sanger, with one of her sisters, and a friend, opened a clinic in Brooklyn, New York. The organization we know today as Planned Parenthood was originally called the American Birth Control League, changed its name to the Birth Control Federation of America in 1939, and finally became Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1942.

From 1961 to 1973 it went by the name Planned Parenthood - World Population, and then returned to Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1974. In this article, we will just use the term "Planned Parenthood" ( or PP) to refer to the organization regardless of year.

The Beginning

Planned Parenthood often refers to Margaret Sanger as a nurse, although she did not complete her training, reaching the status of a nurse-probationer.

The first clinic closed when the three women were arrested nine days later, prosecuted, and sentenced to 30 days in the workhouse for distributing ?obscene' materials and for ?prescribing dangerous medical procedures.'

Following her second marriage, to millionaire J. Noah Slee, and with huge funds now at her disposal, Sanger opened another clinic. To avoid legal problems she called it a "Research Bureau," and began smuggling diaphragms in from Holland.

Planned Parenthood reflects Margaret Sanger's vision. Her successor, Dr. Alan Guttmacher as president of the PPFA said, "We are merely walking down the path that Mrs Sanger carved out for us."

Sanger's grandson, Alexander Sanger, is currently Chair of the International Planned Parenthood Council. Mr. Sanger previously served as the President of Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC) and its international arm, The Margaret Sanger Center International (MSCI) for ten years from 1991 - 2000.

International Planned Parenthood Federation

The founding member organizations of the IPPF were the Netherlands, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Sweden, the UK, the USA, and West Germany. IPPF's headquarters are in London, England.

In January of 1952, the ICPP began publication of a bulletin, Around the World News of Population and Birth Control, which after November became the chief publication of the IPPF.

For several decades, PPFA has been the main provider of sex education in American schools. Their "realistic" approach is based on the concept that most adolescents and teenagers are bound to become sexually active. Education programmes are geared to promoting "safer sex".

The explicit nature of the programmes has generated controversy and outright opposition from groups like Stop Planned Parenthood and Focus on the Family. Planned Parenthood's monopoly in sex education is being challenged by the increasing influence of abstinence programmes. PPFA has deployed its formidable public relations machine to attack abstinence programmes as ineffective and ingnoring the realities of teenage pro-marital sexual behaviour.

Planned Parenthood and the fight to defend abortion rights

Under the Presidency of Gloria Feldt, Planned Parenthood has mounted a tenacious defence of abortion-rights, perceiving that if Roe v.Wade is overturned, dozens of states could move to restrict abortion.

PP's Action Agenda organises lobbying and public policy activity in Congress, statehouses and the courts. Hollywood stars and the leading rock musicians are mobilised for concerts and marches.

To safeguard abortion rights, Planned Parenthood deploys a range of advocacy strategies:

• Litigation to defend abortion rights
• Challenging alleged anti-abortion "disinformation" campaigns
• Mobilising "get-out-and vote" campaigns to register young voters
• Know your enemy public awareness education
• Mobilizing sympathetic religious leaders and clergy
• Promoting Republicans for Choice
Providing abortion services

In 2004 several black and Hispanic male employees of Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles filed multiple complaints of racism against the organization, charging they were the subject of constant slurs in a hostile, anti-male environment controlled by white women.

A female employee, reacting to knowledge of racism at Planned Parenthood, said, under oath, "There was a sense that any employee who was not a white female was going to be carefully watched."

Largest Abortion Provider

Each year, PPFA issues an annual report that summarizes its activities in the United States and abroad. PPFA reported that it performed 227,375 abortion procedures in 2002. That represents a 6.7% increase over the previous year. Since 1977, PPFA has reported doing 3,246,934 abortions up to and including 2002.

If we compare the 2002 PPFA abortion procedures to the generally accepted figure of about 1.3 million abortions procedures per year in the U.S., we can estimate that PPFA performed about 17.5% of all U.S. abortion procedures in 2002. Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the country, running about 190 abortion facilities nationwide.

This latest T-shirt has offended pro-life organisations as could be expected, but also various PP branches around the US who have spoken out against them, and women who are upset because they are still hurting after their abortion.

From 1977 t0 2006 Planned Parenthood have generated estimated revenues in excess of $1,000,000,000 (billion)from its abortion business.

"Private Contributions and Bequests" of $228.1 million accounted for the remaining 30% of PPFA income in fiscal 2003. Big-name donors such as the David and Lucille Packard Foundation and the Open Society Institute (founded by international financier George Soros) kicked in funding for special PPFA initiatives such as the "Mifepristone Affiliate Readiness Project."

This project trained Planned Parenthood employees and helped cover advertising for chemical abortions using RU486. That project, Planned Parenthood details, involved some 48,500 abortions at 172 of its clinics and at well over half (74) of its 125 affiliates.

Other notable donors are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Buffett Foundation, the Estate of Herbert A. Tonne and the Ted Turner Foundation.

Abortion-Rights

STOPP is an organization begun by Sedlak in 1985 with the express intent "to cause such discontent with Planned Parenthood programs that it will have no choice but to close its doors and get out of town!" STOPP endorses all non-violent activity and provides speakers and literature to combat PP programs.

STOPP is involved in fights against PP sex education in schools and in stopping local government funding of PP and travels across the US and internationally to train groups and individuals in how to defeat Family Planning in their communities and schools.

Another organisation which for two decades has been at the forefront of the fight against IPPF is Human Life International (HLI) which was founded by Fr Paul Marx. In the 50's and 60's Fr Marx began to see that the industry which promoted artificial contraception was also the industry that was pushing to legalize abortion. He began to teach and write against Planned Parenthood.

In 1981 Father Marx moved to Washington DC where he established an international network of anti-abortion activists and professionals based upon his two decades of pro-life work and travel. This network he called "Human Life International" whose headquarters are now located just outside of Washington DC and which continues to carry on his prophetic mission in nearly 50 countries of the world.

Public affairs director of IPPF, Sunetra Puri, once described HLI as "one of the most important and dangerous institutions in the world specifically set up to prevent access to reproductive health care." HLI has long played a pivotal role in developing the international as well as the domestic anti-abortion movement.

George Grant

In 1988, author George Grant published "Grand Illusions - The Legacy of Planned Parenthood". The solid investigative journalism and research that went into this book that exposes Planned Parenthood as a radical extremist organisation is such that PPFA has never sued Grant, there has been no refutation of the book, PP will not join him in public debate and are basically trying to ignore that the book exists.

An in-house newsletter, Insider, carried a warning from Douglas Gould, PP's VP for Communications:

"Please do not encourage Mr. Grant by agreeing to debate him should he come to your town. With one exception he has not appeared on any mainstream broadcasts, and his book has not been given serious attention."

Mr. Grant and his book, for all that, was profiled by innumerable national "mainstream" broadcasts as well as print media. Ironically much of the material in his book comes directly from Planned Parenthood -from their own files and records. The book is available free online in both html and PDF format.

The New Zealand Connection

On 16th June, 2006, the New Zealand Family Planning Association announced that their Executive Director, Dr Gill Greer, had been appointed to the post of Director General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, headquartered in London, England.