Grace Swanke sells cookies for a pro-life cause.
This heroic 10-year-old girl was once a loyal Girl Scout cookie-seller in Boise, Idaho. That changed one day after a family meeting with her parents, John and Mary Swanke. The meeting was called to discuss information the Swankes discovered about the Girl Scouts Organization’s connection with Planned Parenthood. The connection, though denied by some, has stirred up frustration with people across the nation.
A Washington Times article, “Planned Parenthood, Girl Scout Cookie Monster,” discusses some of the grievances:
For 14 years,the Girls Scouts of Waco, Texas, co-sponsored a sex-education conference with Planned Parenthood featuring a book written by a member of Planned Parenthood’s Board of Advocates titled, “It’s Perfectly Normal.” This charming tome, given to Girl Scouts in attendance (some as young as 10), replete with graphic sketches of sex organs and techniques, tells kids that abortion can be a “positive experience.”
Former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson wrote about the Planned Parenthood/Girl Scout connection in her blog:
I will never forget the first time I saw a GSUSA logo on the back of one of our brochures. Surely this was a brochure about being sexually abstinent, right? Or about keeping yourself safe from violence. Nope. It was about “how to know you are ready for sex.” Really? Girl Scouts? Do Girl Scouts have sex? That was my immediate thought. They are supposed to be selling cookies…not having sex. Wow. So this is where that cookie money goes. I didn’t think much about it at the time. I was, of course, glad to see the collaboration. Now, it makes me sick.
When Grace’s parents told her the news, she sincerely responded, “Maybe I shouldn’t be a Girl Scout anymore.” Her mother asked what she enjoyed about Girl Scouts, and Grace had one thing that stood out above everything else. She loved selling cookies. When Mary heard that, she replied, “Well, you could always do it for a good reason.”
That was just the encouragement Grace needed. With the help of family and friends, she began baking and sold 80 boxes of cookies last year. The hundreds of dollars from those sales contributed to the purchase of an ultrasound machine for the pro-life Staton Health Care Clinic in Boise. The Staton Health Care Clinic is strategically located next door to the largest Planned Parenthood in Idaho.
Grace loved the live ultrasound demonstration she got to witness at the clinic. “They’re trying to stop abortions right next to the largest center,” she said. This year, Grace will donate all the funds from her cookies to Staton Health. The donation is already around $3,300.00. When Brandi Swindell, founder of the Health Clinic, heard that, she hugged Grace and excitedly said, “No way! Are you serious? That’s a lot of money.” Swindell told CBN News, “This emerging generation is more pro-life. They’re not just the leaders of tomorrow; they can actually be the leaders of today. Grace is an example of that.”
Grace is a pioneer for young pro-life girls in America. Her parents are very proud of her, and I am as well. I hope she sells thousands of cookies and never stops fighting for the ending of abortion.
