Comments on: Pro-Life Organizations Launch Nationwide Campaign Against Planned Parenthood

By: Kyle R. Cupp

Kyle R. Cupp — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:03:58 +0000

To be clear, I am not defending Planned Parenthood or offering a justification for its existence, and I’ve no qualms about loudly broadcasting what precisely Planned Parenthood does. We should be honest and factual about Planned Parenthood operations. STOPP International, a project of the American Life League, has done a good service in reporting detailed statistics about where PP’s money comes from and what it goes to. I think, however, that the case against Planned Parenthood will carry much more weight if the pro-life movement can offer a viable alternative.

Planned Parenthood receives millions in government aid each year, the amount of which has risen each year since at least the mid 90’s. In 2005 government funding accounted for about 33% of PP income, about 34% in 2006. Cut that funding and, yes, PP would have to cut back on its clinics and its services, but it would still survive. PP thrives not just because of government funding, but because it has effectively sold the idea that pregnant women have certain needs (some real, some perceived) and has positioned itself as the best place where those needs can be met.

With good organization and effective campaigning, competition is possible even if our pregnancy centers don’t get the government funding that PP gets. For one thing, we would not be looking to provide abortions and contraceptives, but rather healthcare services for women wanting to keep and raise their babies. We wouldn’t need to raise the full amount of money on which PP operates, but enough to do better what PP does some of the time: primary care, breast exams, testing, etc, plus additional services PP doesn’t provide but the availability of which would give women with “crisis pregnancies” a choice. I’d like to see our pregnancy centers employ full time OB/GYNs and pediatricians who could offer free support to women who believe they have no other choice but to go to Planned Parenthood.

I’m sure PP is frightened by competition; one more reason to give’ em lots of it!

By: George Vogt

George Vogt — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:04:42 +0000

Man Kyle, I am really with Neva here. You are correct about pre-natal info on the PP site, but it is limited, very limited, and certainly not a matter of focus.

A woman visiting PP is overwhelmed with negativity regarding pregnancy. Even a casual review of their website supports this statement.

I always enjoy your super open-minded approach to topics, however with reagards to PP, I am convinced it is an intrinsically evil (and I really don’t throw that around much) institution.

Think they are not threatened by the idea of competition? They are going nuts over proposed HHS changes. The following is directly from their site.

“This rule will allow anti-choice extremists to receive federal funds for so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” — anti-choice facilities whose purpose is to deceive and dissuade women from accessing birth control and abortion information and services.”

WOW – anti-choice? deceive? so-called “crisis pregnancy centers”?

I don’t want my daughters anywhere near PP. I wish I could with-hold my taxes, but we know what would happen there.

By: Kyle R. Cupp

Kyle R. Cupp — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:01:41 +0000

Point taken about government funding of pregnancy centers and the control that would come with it. However, from what I can tell, Planned Parenthood does offer prenatal care services and the organization’s website does have a page on prenatal care. The page explains what services they provide, how often a woman should meet with her “prenatal care clinician,” what to expect on the first and follow up visits, what signs to look for that may indicate a problem, and a health service locator to find the center nearest you.

By: Neva Hernandez

Neva Hernandez — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:37:45 +0000

The very fact of governmental funding for Planned Parenthood means that true market competition is impossible. I also have never heard of a Planned Parenthood that offers pre-natal care, their website certainly doesn’t mention it. In fact no abortion clinic would want to have happily pregnant women anywhere near their clients. As to the “licit” services, they provide pregnancy testing (often with a hard sell for contraceptives and/or abortion) and std testing (where they then tell you all about “safe sex” and how std aren’t really a major problem). More and more pregnancy centers are offering ultra-sounds as well as std testing for both sexes, we will have to wait and see how that plays out. However, I don’t think that governmental is a good ideas for pregnancy centers because it limits so much of what you can do. I think that campaigning against PP is a wonderful idea because it raises awareness of what they really doing (which is not licit services!) and encourages lawmakers to cut their federal funding. I don’t believe that PP could survive without the government for precisely the reason that it is not the best provider of those licit services and without their advertising money, access to public schools and government subsidies the market would be allowed to work and they would have to shut down.

By: Kyle R. Cupp

Kyle R. Cupp — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:56:10 +0000

There’s also good old fashioned competition. Planned Parenthood offers the public a variety of services, some vile such as abortion, others very much needed in our society, such as prenatal care. Pro-lifers have instituted and supported centers that offer services to mothers, but these centers don’t receive the funding that PP gets, and therefore can little compete against it. The Pro-Life Action league and other organizations can publish detractions against PP all they want, but they shouldn’t expect PP to disappear unless the needed services PP provides are provided by others just as effectively. I think the best way to counter Planned Parenthood is to beat them in the market. We know how much they spend on prenatal and other licit services; start capital campaigns to fund organizations that can match or better yet double or triple the prenatal care services offered by PP. Apply for government funding. It’s not inconceivable that every city that has a PP center could also have a center or two that competes with it and offers select services (obviously not abortion) better than PP.