The American Feminist

The American Feminist, Fall 1997

Planned Parenthood Calls US Anti-Choice?

"Anti-choice Group Plans Intensive Campus Campaign," warns a headline in the spring edition of Planned Parenthood's internal newsletter, the INsider. The centerpiece of the article is FFL's "Question Abortion" poster, accompanied by this anxious caption: "If you spot images like this on college campuses in your area, it means the Feminists for Life anti-choice campaign is in YOUR backyard."

What has spooked Planned Parenthood so badly? FFL's College Outreach Program!

Planned Parenthood's national office sent staffers from its Clinic Defense and Research Department to the Tenth Annual American Collegians for Life conference held at Georgetown University last January to "preview the anti-choice plans for campus activities in the coming year." The Planned Parenthood sleuths, who kept mum about the identify of their employer, noted the presence of "anti-choice bigwigs" such as former presidential candidate Alan Keyes; Douglas Scott, who wrote an expose on Planned Parenthood; and Congresswoman Linda Smith (R-Wash.), whom they mistakenly described as "ex-congresswoman." But it was clearly FFL's own executive director, Serrin Foster, whom they saw as most threatening. The sleuths reported that FFL's College Outreach Program is "the newest and most challenging concept in anti-choice student organizing."

Foster introduced the pro-life students at the conference to FFL's College Outreach Program, which Planned Parenthood fears will have a "profound impact on the anti-choice student movement, as well as Planned Parenthood's public education and advocacy efforts." According to the newsletter article, these fears stem from FFL's desire to provide funding and services that would "enable students to carry pregnancies to term and that would advocate for on-campus housing, child care, maternity health care coverage, and continuing college education for both partners," as well as FFL's plan to "educate young women about their rights to child support."

The "pro-choice" Planned Parenthood is clearly alarmed by this FFL goal: "Women on college campuses will no longer be led to believe that abortion is their only choice."

The article warns Planned Parenthood insiders that "Feminists for Life has already prepared a full array of anti-choice materials to supply to existing student anti-choice organizations and campus crisis-pregnancy centers...FFL's College Outreach Program includes a new 'Pregnancy Resource Kit' and 'Pro-Life Feminists Resource Kit' which targets outlets that are not traditionally anti-choice, such as college libraries, women's studies departments, and women's resource centers."

Clearly Planned Parenthood views FFL's growing influence as a serious threat. In the article, they attempted to dismiss us as just another bunch of anti-choice fanatics. They went so far as to invent quotes, attributed to Serrin Foster, about "sin," "fallen into sin," and "the more grievous 'sin' of abortion." (We have the tapes to prove these are complete fabrications.) In fact, Foster encouraged pro-life students to reach out to the women's groups on campus to work together to develop program resources for pregnant women.

Of course, if Planned Parenthood had done its homework, it would have known that in creating the Pregnancy Resource Kit, FFL invited pro-choice people to develop materials that offer women the full range of choices and the resources to support those choices. FFL has always been able to work with people on both sides of the abortion debate to develop practical resources for women and children in need. FFL's successful defeat of the family cap in welfare reform, our support of enhanced child support enforcement and our support for the Violence Against Women Act attest to our bipartisan approach when it comes to protecting women and their children. FFL even approached a pro-choice organization to gather information on the issue of child support.

It is sad, even pathetic, that Planned Parenthood is so self-indoctrinated that they fail to recognize the exquisite irony: They denounce US as "anti-choice" because we offer choices other than abortion. It is clear that abortion is the only "choice" Planned Parenthood deems acceptable.

FFL issues the following challenge to Planned Parenthood: If you are truly "pro-choice," join us in making available choices other than abortion. Endorse our College Outreach Program and work with us to eliminate the pressures on women that force them into abortion as a last resort, not a free choice.

Question abortion. FFL has the answers!