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 By Jolene Churchill It was a couple of weeks before Christmas some years ago when I was working late on a volunteer project at my favorite local pro-life organization and I received a call that still haunts me to this day. The frantic voice on the other end screamed into my ear these words, “Planned Parenthood is attacking my family and you have to help me stop them!” My blood ran cold for this poor woman as she recounted the details of her story. The frightened mother told me that she had just received word from an anonymous source that her teenage daughter was pregnant and Planned Parenthood was planning to take her to court to obtain a judicial bypass so they could perform an abortion on her daughter without her knowledge or consent. “Please, tell me what I can do to save my daughter and grandchild!” wept the poor mother. We immediately prayed for God’s hand to cover this situation. Then I told this mother that she needed to go to her daughter immediately and plead with her not to abort the precious child growing inside of her. I sent her a care package to help in the heart-to-heart-to-tiny-beating-heart conversation that was about to ensue. For the next several days, I was completely on pins and needles. This little baby’s life that was hanging in the balance was the only item on my Christmas wish list that year. I never wanted anything more badly than the sparing of this child’s life. I waited and I waited. No word. Then it happened again that I was working late and I received a call. “Hello. I need to speak to the young lady who sent my family pro-life brochures and the homemade baby quilt. I need to tell her my daughter is choosing life and we’re having a baby! I’m a grandmother!” My heart stopped in an instant and the tears rushed forth. The mother was so excited that she was able to win her daughter’s heart over to choose life and reject Planned Parenthood’s plan for their family. I was ecstatic! Planned Parenthood - Wisconsin’s Largest Abortion Provider Since that day, I have been following Planned Parenthood’s agenda closely via their websites, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (www.ppwi.org/) and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin (www.ppawi.org/). On these sites, you can learn about the following: their 170,000 supporters, house parties, upcoming fundraising events, election candidate endorsement forms, their abortionists and board members, 2010 legislative agenda which includes the current Sex Ed Bill (AB 458/SB 324) and support for the ObamaCare health care plan, annual reports, past campaign literature used to target pro-life legislators at election time, and praises for their founder, Margaret Sanger. Planned Parenthood even offers an organizational timeline dating back to 1935 when they were first founded in Wisconsin. Considering the millions of tax dollars this organization receives, it would be well worth the time of Wisconsin’s Christians to develop a more intimate knowledge of this organization. Planned Parenthood’s website states that it operates “…27 health centers throughout the state of Wisconsin.” As the premier abortion provider in the Dairy State, Planned Parenthood operates three of Wisconsin’s six free-standing abortion facilities which are located in Appleton, Madison, and Milwaukee. Planned Parenthood in Appleton has received a great deal of media and internet coverage lately regarding misleading information about fetal development and the risks of abortion provided to a young woman considering abortion. If you have not seen Lila Rose’s video footage during a recent visit to the Appleton facility, you can view it at www.liveaction.org/. This amazing footage gives an inside snapshot as to how the abortion industry works. After watching this video, it should be apparent how vital it is for pro-life advocates to be at clinics to offer abortion-bound mothers factual information, hope, and practical help. The Pillars of Abortion Are Coming Down As thousands of pro-lifers from across the country trek to Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life to remind our country of the decision the U.S. Supreme Court made on January 22, 1973, we are seeing the pillars of abortion come down with the passage of time. Norma McCorvey, (Jane Roe in the Roe v. Wade decision), is now fighting for the right to life; Sandra Cano of the Doe v. Bolton companion case is pro-life; and Bernard Nathanson, former abortionist and founder of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), has been a staunch ally to the cause of life for the last several years and has written the book, “The Hand of God.” An entire column could be written on the amazing conversion stories of many former abortionists. Right now, many pro-lifers across the country have welcomed with open arms Abby Johnson, a young mother and former Planned Parenthood director from Texas, to our movement. Just as the Father welcomed home the prodigal son in the Bible, so, too, should pro-lifers welcome folks to our cause who may have been blinded by the lies of the “choice” crowd. Even with these positive signs, however, we have to acknowledge that the pro-life movement needs to step it up, as there remain 6 high-volume abortion clinics in our state that need to be closed down. Scripture makes it clear that God hates hands that shed innocent blood. Since 1973, there have been over one-half million abortions in Wisconsin. Imagine one-half million aborted babies and approximately one million moms and dads of children who will never be. The numbers are compelling and should make the impact of abortion on our state with an approximate population of 5 million very real. Each year, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services publishes a report on the number of induced abortions which you can access at http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/stats/pdf/itop2008.pdf. This statistical report contains information about the age of the mothers choosing abortion, their marital status, and their county of residence. Do you know how many babies were aborted in your county last year? Are you working to make your county a pro-life county? That would be a good resolution for 2010. What Can We Do to Stop Planned Parenthood and Similar Organizations? 1) First and foremost, pray that America becomes a country that loves life and babies again so that Planned Parenthood will one day cease to exist. 2) Educate our children about God’s plan for life, traditional marriage, and the gift of sexuality. Sadly, as I travel the state, I hear from many folks that their pastors refuse to teach and speak from the pulpit about sin, morality, and God’s plan for young people. I am part of a growing movement of folks who believe that if pastors refuse to do their jobs in helping to set souls on the right path, boycotting the collection plate may become necessary so that those dollars can be used to fund pro-life/pro-family groups. Frankly, too many pastors are outsourcing their moral obligations to the government, public schools, and other organizations. This trend must stop. 3) I long for the day when at least one church in every legislative district in our state commits to letting their elected officials know of their opposition to any anti-life/anti-family legislation. One committed church in every district could turn our entire state around. Knowing that Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in our state, it should be a concern to every parent and citizen of good will that this controversial organization has successfully lobbied the Wisconsin legislature to mandate their Sex Ed curriculum for the entire state. If you are not familiar with “Comprehensive Sex Ed,” you may want to check out Planned Parenthood’s explicit website for teens at www.teenwire.com. 4) Make it a priority to be aware of what is being taught in your schools. The state does not mandate that school districts offer sex education; it is completely optional. Schools that offer sex education must follow the dictates of Wisconsin’s Human Growth and Development statute, Section 118.019, Wisconsin Statutes, which can be accessed from the legislature’s website. Under the statutes, these schools must assemble an advisory committee “…composed of parents, teachers, school administrators, pupils, health care professionals, members of the clergy, and other residents of the school district” that is required to meet every three years. Make serving on these advisory committees a top priority so you can keep Planned Parenthood and similar groups out of your classrooms. If these groups are already in your schools, opt your children out immediately. Christians everywhere should be taking a hard look at the candidates running for their school boards during this spring’s elections. 5) Learn how the abortion industry operates. First, they actively promote the message of promiscuity to as many young people as possible by getting into schools and community groups. One of the most effective means employed by these groups is to hire what are known as “teen mentors.” Then these groups drive a wedge between parents and children by promoting an “Everything is confidential/no one needs to know” sales pitch to attract young customers. Once naive teens have sufficiently bought the lie, groups will sell them the “safe sex” lie which says, “Have sex without consequences.” Selling teens birth control is a multimillion dollar industry. Once teens are experimenting, they often find themselves pregnant. Then kids return to these birth control agencies for more “help” and often an abortion is the next “product” recommended. At some point in a sexually-active young person’s life, the person may contract a sexually transmitted disease that will need to be treated. This, in turn, means that this young person will likely become a lifelong customer of the agency because some STDs are permanent and some medications to treat STDs are quite expensive. 6) Boycott the 900+ pharmacies, clinics, and doctors that receive 15 million tax dollars each year from the Family Planning Waiver, Wisconsin’s teen birth control program. Pro-life advocates across the state could make a tremendous impact by doing so. If you would like to know the Family Planning Waiver providers in your community and how to launch an effective community boycott, please feel free to call me at 608-289-8122 or email me at totally4life@yahoo.com. I would love to help make your community family-friendly. For those who have been involved in the pro-life movement for any amount of time, we know that the burden is a very heavy one to bear, but ours is a cause that is very near and dear to God’s heart.
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