I was going to write about the "James O'Keefe-style undercover 'prostitute' hoax at multiple clinics" (Alex Pareene, Salon), but Mr. Pareene has done my job for me. Short version: anti-abortion group Live Action sent fake pimps who claimed to be involved in underage sex-trafficking to five different Planned Parenthood clinics; Planned Parenthood did the right thing by reporting them to law enforcement (the FBI, since it was an interstate scam); the "pimps" constructed a video attempting to frame Planned Parenthood employees anyway.
Unfortunately, the MSM largely ignored the whole incident (unless you count Breitbart's tirade, which I will not link from here, and... guess who... Fox News, ditto), so most people are left with only rumors and lies. And as Mark Twain is supposed to have said, "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." Anything not discounted by the MSM is bound to have actually happened, right?
My contract work 20+ years ago for Planned Parenthood is well-known; I don't need to revisit it here. But I do need to emphasize why I jumped at the chance to do it: Planned Parenthood is arguably America's signature provider of health care for poor women... reproductive health care, of course, but many other sorts as well. Are you poor, and need to ensure that your pregnancy goes smoothly and your baby emerges healthy? Go to Planned Parenthood. But that sort of thing never makes the evening news, does it? "Healthy Babies Born with Assistance of Planned Parenthood" is a headline you truly never see. But that is the organization that Live Action is attempting to kill.
I'm not too worried. Planned Parenthood has been in considerably more political combat than, say, ACORN, and they will win this one. But it's an indicator of the extremes to which the lying bastards will go. And it's not going to get any easier.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
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Thank you. As a renegade Catholic (I mostly don't believe in abortion; I believe that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.), I get annoyed with the bad rap Planned Parenthood gets while their good works are ignored.
ReplyDeleteI've decided that the world has gone completely bonkers.
Kay, the topic is too big for one blog post and one comment, but I'll try.
ReplyDeleteFirst, a woman has IMHO a very nearly absolute right to decide whether to reproduce or not. A woman who lacks that right is a second-class citizen. Goodness knows the US has created quite enough second-class citizens in its short existence, including women, blacks, some other minorities at some times, and of course the First People (Native Americans, American Indians, etc., choose your favorite term) from practically the moment whites arrived. We don't need to backslide by denying certain groups certain rights based on gender or ethnicity; enough is enough.
That said, Roe v. Wade and the various cases with "Planned Parenthood" in their names do not, in fact, accord that absolute right to women. For example, the law expresses some limits in the last trimester. Anti-choice zealots have attempted repeatedly to chip away at the list of circumstances in which a woman may choose abortion; for the most part, they have failed until recently.
Second, anyone who disapproves of abortion should not have one. I know of no one... not one person of any persuasion... who would disagree with that. Certainly no medical professional working for Planned Parenthood would suggest abortion to a woman who is not seeking one, though they may well say something like, "If you attempt to carry this child to term, you will almost certainly die in childbirth." A doctor's obligation simply must be to his or her patient, first and foremost. But the notion that Planned Parenthood hangs out a sign that says "Special on abortions today! Get yours while the bargains last!" is utter poppycock: Planned Parenthood believes in a woman's right to choose, pure and simple.
Third, as noted in the post, Planned Parenthood provides many health care services to women who could not otherwise afford them. But you will never hear an admission of that from the zealots. No, their aim is to destroy Planned Parenthood utterly; that is what happened in this case.
I have no problem with someone's deciding that they disapprove of abortion. In America, that is an individual's right; the Supreme Court has so ruled. But I have strong objections to any person attempting to make that decision for someone else. That's why we talk about "a woman's right to choose" ... it's a right, and without that right, the woman is relegated to a kind of servitude.
(Don't get me started about the bastards who are trying to split hairs over what kinds of rape should allow abortion: NO ONE should ever be forced to reproduce.)
Well, that's enough for now. (Sigh.)