The idea of sending abortionists love letters is strange, to say the least. To find out that those love letters are coming from a so-called Catholics group makes it disturbing. But that’s what the pro-abortion group Catholics for Choice is doing. To “celebrate” Valentine’s Day, the group compiled “love letters” to Planned Parenthood. The president explained why, saying:
In the summer of 2015, the antichoice group Center for Medical Progress released misleading videos that accused Planned Parenthood of “selling” fetal tissue. The videos were disseminated in the most explosive manner possible to ensure Planned Parenthood would be targeted by antiabortion factions in Congress and candidates in the next presidential election. The goal is deeply political and it’s not grounded in reality. The truth is: nowhere in the video does a staff member from Planned Parenthood discuss “selling” fetal tissue. As Catholics who care about the common good, we think it’s critical that fetal tissue is donated to help find cures for diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. We believe it’s moral, ethical—and downright necessary—when done according to a patient’s wishes and within the legal guidelines.
This attack is part of an effort to defund and discredit Planned Parenthood and make abortion even harder to access, especially for poor women and women of color. It’s part of an elaborate smokescreen that the antiabortion movement is using to distract the media and politicians from the real issue at stake.
It would be interesting to know if Catholics for Choice shared all of the information about the Center for Medical Progress videos. Did they tell their followers that the videos were “misleading”? Because in truth, the Center for Medical Progress released the full, unedited videos each and every time, and forensic analysis of the videos determined that they were not doctored. And despite the claim that Planned Parenthood never discusses selling fetal tissue, the sad reality is that they did admit it in the videos (remember the Lamborghini comment, for example?). Cecile Richards herself admitted it. Would their constituents still want to send Planned Parenthood love letters if they knew these facts? We’ll probably never know the answer to that question.
So what kind of love letters were there to Planned Parenthood?
“As a Catholic committed to social justice and human rights, I am so grateful that you are there doing the job that you do to protect our basic human rights.”
“In the long run, abortions save lives.”
“As a Catholic, I believe in social justice and that denying women healthcare is a violation of that belief. The poor especially benefit from Planned Parenthood.
“As a non-practicing Catholic—but once a Catholic, always a Catholic—I know firsthand the great work that the organization does, not only here in the US but around the world. I have followed for years the attempts—and actual decisions—to defund Planned Parenthood on the sole issue of providing counseling on choice to women. … Thank you for your excellent work, and for the intelligence and tenacity with which your leadership navigates the current troubled waters.”
“Real Christians actually care about other people. The facts tell me your organization cares about people and the future of our world.”
“As a non-Catholic, my faith believes in showing solidarity with and compassion for the poor. It is shameful and immoral that these antichoice extremists resort to deceit to limit access to the critical reproductive health services that Planned Parenthood provides.”
That last one is especially interesting — that letter-writer wasn’t the only person to proclaim themselves a non-Catholic. So how many of Catholics for Choice’s constituents are actually Catholic? It would certainly explain some of the not-so-Catholic behavior that they are notorious for.
A common refrain is that Planned Parenthood helps people living in poverty, and provides necessary health care. This is allegedly why these “Catholics” support Planned Parenthood. But the truth is, poor women have lots of options for low-cost health care, and Planned Parenthood is actually outnumbered by comprehensive health care clinics. The only difference between Planned Parenthood and these clinics? Abortion.
American women do not actually rely on Planned Parenthood for health care — only a small percentage of women are served by the abortion giant — and health care services at Planned Parenthood have increasingly plummeted over the years. Planned Parenthood doesn’t care about providing health care to poor women. They care about abortion. That’s their business. They’re America’s biggest abortion provider, and they’ll do whatever they have to do to convince a pregnant woman to get an abortion.
No counseling? Check. Inadequate counseling? Check. Manipulative counseling? Check. Lying to women about their pregnancy? Check.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIXHrusvMDw&w=560&h=315]
No wonder abortion has skyrocketed at Planned Parenthood.
Of course, the leadership at Catholics for Choice likely knows all of this — and doesn’t care. They’re close with Cecile Richards, who serves as the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood. She also serves as chairman of the Ford Foundation’s finance committee, which gave Catholics for Choice a $300,000 grant. The decision of where grant money gets sent is made by Richards herself.
Let’s be real here: Catholics for Choice doesn’t have much to do with being Catholic, and everything to do with pimping abortion. But their followers should maybe ask themselves a question: is supporting this evil organization that consistently hurts women really consistent with Catholic values?
