About Planned Parenthood
by John Lightner
EDITOR:
September 21, 1997
Planned Parenthood deserves no support from the County. Particularly
where
our tax dollars are concerned.
Planned Parenthood demonstrates a strong spirit of intolerance
regarding
those who do not agree with their philosophies. As an example, no
less
than one hundred local clergy and numerous other highly respected
public
and private individuals around the world have condemned the barbaric
abortion procedure known as the partial birth abortion.
More than a year after he hit the airwaves claiming that the procedure
was
used rarely and only on women whose lives were in danger or whose
fetuses
were damaged, Ron Fitzsimmons, executive director of the National
Coalition
of Abortion Providers, admitted that he "lied through my teeth" about
the
frequency of the procedure. Fitzsimmons said "It made me physically
ill"
to maintain the lie. He said "Untold thousands of the gruesome
late-term
abortions are performed yearly. A majority are done on healthy
mothers and
healthy fetuses-mostly teens". (Bradenton Herald March 14, 1997)
On April 23rd, 1997 Planned Parenthood, in spite of overwhelming
evidence
that their position on the partial birth was despicably incorrect,
sent out
an "Emergency" fax. It stated "everyone should call
their
state representative in Tallahassee now to oppose these bills. The
bills
were HB 1205-the woman's right to know bill (informed consent) and
HB1227-the ban on late term abortions. The informed consent bill
meant
that the women, more often teens, needed to be counseled on the
effects of
abortion on the unborn child as well as the mother.
Planned Parenthood is obviously against informed consent because of
the
chilling affect it would have on their "business".
An organization with such extreme views and radical positions should
not be
trusted in any facet of their business-especially when it concerns our
children. Planned Parenthood's position in favor of the partial birth
abortion and against informed consent should erase any illusion of
credibility presented by Planned Parenthood.