Using a quickly-mobilized email campaign, a pro-life organization in Waco, Texas, succeeded in ousting Planned Parenthood as a featured presenter for “Girls Day 2013,” a YMCA educational program for girls of ages 9 and up.
According to LifeSiteNews, pro-life activists were appalled when they learned, on April 4th, that the “Girls Day” program, planned for April 6th, would feature Katie Wolfe, Waco Planned Parenthood’s education director. Wolfe was scheduled to speak to both the young girls participating in the conference and their parents on “building healthy relationships” from Planned Parenthood’s perspective.
Upon learning about the scheduled speaker, Joe Pisciotta, director of Pro-Life Waco, sent an email to his organization’s supporters, asking them to participate in a rushed email and phone campaign to the 16 employees of the Waco YMCA, urging them to drop Wolfe as a speaker.
Within a little over 24 hours, those pro-life activists who wrote, received an email response from Christopher Bernard, associate executive director of YMCA of Central Texas:
We thank you for your concerns. As of Thursday afternoon, Planned Parenthood will not be attending the YMCA of Central Texas’ Girls Day at Doris Miller Family Y. As an organization that serves the Central Texas community, it is our upmost [sic] priority to adhere to our mission of putting Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all. We look forward to the impact that Girls Day will have on the young women of this community. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact either myself or CEO/President Patrick Murphy at pat.murphy@ymcactx.org
Pisciotta said his organization’s effort was the latest in a string of campaigns against local groups with connections to Planned Parenthood. In 2004, Pro-Life Waco led a boycott of Girl Scout cookie sales because of the local council’s connection to the abortion organization. In addition, in 2010, the group succeeded in prompting the Central National Bank to drop its public support for Planned Parenthood.
In 2008, another pro-life organization in Waco challenged the relationship between Texas Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood. The controversy surrounded a sex education pamphlet distributed by the abortion industry giant to children as young as 10 years old.
According to CNSNews.com, Family Research Council Vice President for Communications Genevieve Wood said, “Parents have every right to be troubled by an alliance of the Girl Scouts and an organization like Planned Parenthood.”
Wood added, “They may see themselves as a ‘health organization,’ but parents know exactly what Planned Parenthood is, and no amount of spin will change that.”
The pamphlet contained information on masturbation as well as diagrams of adults engaged in sex and a boy using a condom.
In response to the controversy, former Girl Scouts CEO Kathy Cloninger appeared on the “Today” show.
“We have relationships with our church communities, with YWCA’s, and with Planned Parenthood organizations across the country, to bring information-based sex education programs to girls,” Cloninger said.
“If the Girl Scouts in conservative Waco, Texas are teaming up with Planned Parenthood, parents across the nation should look into whether their local organization is doing the same,” Wood said.
According to an article in Catholic News Agency, current Girl Scouts CEO Anna Maria Chavez introduced herself to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) as having had a childhood of “faith” that placed her “on the right path,” yet her background indicates public ties with pro-abortion politicians, political figures, and organizations.
High-level political figures in the nation have openly promoted a relationship between Planned Parenthood and young girls.
Early in 2012, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that Planned Parenthood’s relationship with the Girl Scouts of America is “very valuable.”
As CNSNews.com reported in February of 2012, Pelosi was featured at a congressional reception to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts. Other female government leaders joined her to promote the Girl Scout’s new program, “To Get Her There,” an initiative that sought to achieve “gender-balanced leadership” in one generation.
When asked whether the Girl Scouts’ ties to Planned Parenthood created a “valuable” working relationship, Pelosi evasively responded, “The Girl Scouts have relationships with many organizations. And, yes, I think they are all very valuable.”
In March of 2010, the Washington Times reported that a panel sponsored by the Girl Scouts USA at the United Nations Commission featured a Planned Parenthood pamphlet entitled, “Healthy, Happy and Hot,” which described the many ways in which people can enjoy sex.
According to the report, the pamphlet read, “There is no right or wrong way to have sex. Just have fun, explore and be yourself!”
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