Pro-Life Wisconsin “has a black friend”

Pro-Life Wisconsin released an Alex Jones-worthy rant decrying “the continuing eugenics movement in Wisconsin” supposedly perpetrated by our friends at Planned Parenthood. The extreme right-wing PLW goes on to accuse Planned Parenthood of racism, alleging a vast abortion-marketing campaign targeting minorities.

Pro-Life Wisconsin believes their own obvious focus on race should be excused, citing their latest PR stunt, “was created by Ryan Bomberger (who is biracial).”

In another display of vapidity the press release bemoans birth control, oblivious to the connection between birth control, unplanned pregnancy and the abortions Pro-Life Wisconsin is constantly fussing over.

Groups like Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin and Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota are constantly under attack with baseless claims. Last week on Talk of the Nation a right-wing activist called in posing as a former contributor to Planned Parenthood who changed her position following a young girl she knew supposedly being counseled by an employee, essentially to get an abortion over any other option (audio at 21:00). The caller blew her cover by referring to herself as “pro abortion” a term only used by the far right, not to mention that Planned Parenthood provides comprehensive reproductive health care, not just abortions.

Other dubious “facts” were presented by listeners of the program, and guest Marjorie Dannenfelser of the anti-abortion rights Susan B. Anthony list, calling into question how far the already far-right will go to instill their flawed morality into the laws of our land. Compare that with the email from a listener who said Planned Parenthood saved her life after being gang raped, and who is on the side of humanity — the anti-choice right, or Planned Parenthood?

Planned Parenthood Advocates endorse Tom Barrett while WI Family Action and Craig Fletcher bleed hypocrisy

I’m a few days late on this one, but how about some good news regarding the anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut? (Cf: Pro-Life Wisconsin’s attack on freedom) Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin endorses Tom Barrett for Governor as “the only Wisconsin Gubernatorial candidate supporting birth control access.” The PPAWI release notes GOP candidates Walker and Neumann’s extreme positions of sponsoring and voting in favor of anti-women, anti-choice legislation.

Elsewhere, Craig Fletcher, running for the seat Tom Nelson will be vacating for his Lt. Governor run received the endorsement of the Wisconsin Family Action PAC. WFA has a history of advocating against freedom on many issues — marriage, education, and of course the right to make a decision regarding one’s own body. But the Fletcher campaign has issued another press release today: “Fletcher supports personal choice — auto title loans.”

Nice to see the Wisconsin Family Action and Craig Fletcher are willing to go so far to protect liberty and freedom — for the payday lending industry.  Fletcher’s release claims citizens “need to be concerned with this attack on businesses and personal rights” and laments the governor “can take away the consumers’ rights to use their personal property as they see fit.”

Fletcher bleeds hypocrisy. Wisconsin Family Action and the Fletchers of the state are not interested in freedom or liberty if the government is willing to regulate an issue that offends their moral sensibilities. Isn’t a woman’s self-determination with her body at least as important as “rights to…personal property?”

Despite their efforts to convince you otherwise, the GOP and anti-choice right do not have a stranglehold on liberty. Far from it.

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Also, just up is the PPAWI state legislature incumbent endorsements. List here.

Anti-choice Live Action proven wrong but doesn’t give up

Pundit Nation has an update to the Live Action stunt at a Milwaukee Planned Parenthood, in which an actor posing as a 14 year old claims to be pregnant by a 31 year old. From the Journal-Sentinel;

“Milwaukee prosecutors have declined to charge anyone at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin over an undercover video released by an anti-abortion group in February.”

“Deputy District Attorney Patrick Kenney said the situation in the video “raises the issue of legal impossibility,” because the purported pregnant 14-year-old was neither pregnant nor a child.”

Exactly the case made here at Pretty Important. A big thank you to the anti-choice attention seekers at Live Action for wasting the valuable time of the District Attorney’s office. With the state already facing a prosecutor shortage and real crime, protests against legal activity is not something prosecutors should have to deal with.

Not to give up, Live Action just released another heavily edited video shot in a Milwaukee Planned Parenthood clinic. Pro-Life Wisconsin director Peggy Hamill takes the opportunity to praise Live Action and reminisce on her time as a “sidewalk counselor” outside clinics. I can only imagine the harm done by “sidewalk counselors,” if this is the PLW idea of the truth about emergency contraception (note comic sans font).

Time is short so I’ll end with this — The right wing extols limited government. Until it wants the government to control something. So goes their flawed ideology. Support Planned Parenthood.

Anti-choice Democrats short-sighted, like a certain religion

The anti-choice Democrats in Congress remind me of Catholics over the past decade. Willing, even eager, to ignore the bigger picture over a single issue. That single issue is the same with both parties — abortion.

Many Catholics chose to vote for George W. Bush and the Republican party, solely for their stance on abortion. Never mind that the church is vehemently against the death penalty and deemed the war in Iraq “unjust,” both contrary to Republican ideology. Abortion reigned supreme to most Catholics, despite the fact a GOP in charge of both the legislative and executive branches of the federal government would still fail to implement a ban.

Currently several Democrats are willing to throw out health care for millions of Americans, because federal subsidies going to citizens for the purpose of purchasing insurance could go to companies offering coverage for abortion under any insurance plan, whether purchased with subsidized funds or not. This situation featuring multiple variables is enough for these Democrats to block insurance for millions of uninsured citizens.

The analogy is not perfect. With Democrats in charge of both branches the war in Iraq rages on and the death penalty isn’t going anywhere. Health care reform is up in the air, at best. But these Democrats  are stretching the issue much further than the Catholics ever did, due to the insignificant levels of funding (down to plans that are not subsidized, merely offered by the same company) compared to insurance for millions currently suffering without.

If a reform bill does finally pass both houses of Congress, it must not contain any equivalents to the Nelson or Stupak amendments. Groups like Wisconsin Right to Life tell outright lies, claiming health care reform will result in massive taxpayer funding of abortions. The group’s eagerness to kill health care reform shows how tiny a fragment of “life” WRTL is concerned with.

Planned Parenthood advocates quality, affordable health care for all Americans. They know how badly America needs reform and so do millions of uninsured Americans.

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No ill will meant toward any Catholics, and I’m not grouping them all together either. I can’t emphasize enough that I’m not trying to be anti-Catholic with this post. I suffered through CCD all the way to Confirmation, and everyone is entitled to their opinion. I’ll let you live your life.

Wisconsin anti-choice groups running interference as Healthy Youth Act signed into law

The right-wing womb-invaders at Wisconsin Right to Life and Pro-Life Wisconsin are going crazy over a disgusting “undercover” video by anti-choice Live Action showing an actor portraying a 14-year-old seeking counseling at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Milwaukee. The “shocker” here is the girl claims she was impregnated by a 31-year-old.

The premise of the video is PP should have reported the case to authorities as the intercourse was illegal. But the reality of the situation is not as Live Action attempts to portray. The Planned Parenthood employee counseling the actor immediately asks if the sex was consensual, to which the actor replied “yes.” The counselor also tells the actor that if she reports to the termination provider the age of the fictional man who “impregnated” her the contrived incident could be reported to authorities. The actor clearly does not wish for the incident to be reported, and at this stage it appears the counselor has not yet obtained any of the necessary information to report it. If the counselor were to tell the “pregnant” actor she had to provide information for the counselor to report the incident, the actor, were she a real teenager in trouble with a pregnancy, would surely exit the clinic leaving the incident unreported either way.

Pro-Life Wisconsin goes so far to make the abhorrent claim;

“Planned Parenthood does not care about the children of Wisconsin, just the money for abortions.”

In fact it is PLW that does not care about the children of Wisconsin. The group demonstrates this not only in their opposition to choice for Wisconsin women of all ages, but in their opposition to education as well.

Today Governor Doyle is signing into law the Healthy Youth Act, mandating comprehensive sex education in Wisconsin’s public schools. PLW, along with WRTL vehemently oppose the law. A purpose of comprehensive sex education is fewer pregnant youth which throws the right-wing argument that Planned Parenthood wants more abortions out the window.

The Live Action video was shot June 25, 2008. The release a year and a half later, the day before the Healthy Youth Act is signed into law shows the anti-choice right-wing as the cheap stunt-purveyors they are. While civilized Wisconsin is celebrating education, Wisconsin Right to Life and Pro-Life Wisconsin run interference. While Planned Parenthood fights for reproductive rights, WRTL and PLW promotes the denial of care to young women over reporting requirements.

Support your local Planned Parenthood. We all scored a victory with the Healthy Youth Act but the right-wing groups will  stop at nothing, including blatant lies, to drag Wisconsin back into the dark ages.

Planned Parenthood ramps up educational campaign in support of Healthy Youth Act

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin is ramping up an educational campaign in support of AB 458, The Healthy Youth Act. For the sake of Wisconsin’s youth this bill, which has already passed the Assembly, must now pass the Senate and be signed into law by Governor Doyle. The bill;

“Updates Wisconsin’s sex education statute so that if a school district decides to teach sex ed, the instruction will include key elements that are proven to change risky teen behavior and reduce pregnancy and STD rates, including information about abstinence and birth control.”

Opponents of the Healthy Youth Act have launched a misinformation campaign. Unfortunately some people value ideology over facts, at grave expense to the young people of Wisconsin. Planned Parenthood has worked diligently to counter the lies. A highlight from today’s press release;

“This bill supports parental rights by requiring that parents be notified if sexuality education instruction will not be taught. Parents additionally have the right to inspect all curriculum and instructional materials before they are used in the classroom and to remove their child from the instruction if they so choose.”

I couldn’t sum it up any better;

“To most Wisconsinites, this bill is about common sense, a much-needed first step in ensuring more students in our state have access to life saving health information.”

This bill is terribly important to the future of Wisconsin youth. Contact your state Senator and ask them to support the Healthy Youth Act.

Wisconsin “Pro-Life” Groups Are Anything But

Both of Wisconsin’s anti-contraception, anti-women’s health advocacy groups are spreading falsehoods and endangering citizens again this week.  Wisconsin Right to Life demonstrates tighter abortion restrictions outrank the health of Americans, while Pro-Life Wisconsin publicizes a stunt disparaging Planned Parenthood doctors.

With the Senate defeating the Nelson/Hatch amendment WRTL claims;

“Senators…voted to keep abortion covered in the proposed federal government insurance program.”

The federal government insurance program? Like a public option? Like the dead public option? The amendments defeat does not put the federal government in the abortion business, no matter how you spin it.

So WRTL is “in strong opposition to the Reid pro-abortion health care bill.” The abortion opposing Senate majority leader is pushing a pro-abortion bill? That doesn’t make any sense…but neither does fighting health care for Americans.

Also outrageous is WRTL’s claim Sen. Herb Kohl lied when saying “I do not want health care to be used as a vehicle to expand abortion access” because he voted against the amendment. A vote against restricting abortion rights does not contradict a position against abortion expansion.

Pro-Life Wisconsin joins the “liar, liar” name-calling, accusing a Planned Parenthood doctor of lying to an undercover operative posing as a confused and moronic (asking multiple times “what’s a fetus?”) potential patient. In Peggy Hamill’s (PLW director) world, statements contrary to her opinion are lies. The rest of us do not operate under that luxury Peggy. I don’t see a “Dr.” in front of your name, pardon me if I don’t take your statements on human growth and development over someone who does.

So-called “pro-life” groups are a threat to the health of our country. Without health there can be no life. By opposing any health care reform that does not further restrict abortion rights the anti-choice movement is selfishly seeking attention at the cost of human lives they claim to place such a high value on.