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Bait and Switch Crisis Pregnancy Centers

Bait and Switch Crisis Pregnancy Centers

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Ask your representative to support H.R.5052 Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services Act which requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to:

(1) promulgate rules prohibiting persons from advertising with the intent to deceptively create the impression that such persons provide abortion services; and (2) enforce violations of such rules as unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.

Even if you are pro-life/anti-choice, you should support this bill. There is no reason that CPCs can’t proudly advertise what they do offer. How about something like: “Thinking about an abortion? Come talk to us about the alternatives.”

Thanks to an investigation by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), we know exactly what they’re telling women. Female investigators called, saying they were pregnant, and recorded their conversations. 87% of CPCs provided false or misleading information about the health effects of abortion.

These centers, which are easily confused with full reproductive health and planning services, use neutral-sounding names and ads – but their agenda is very clear. They spread misinformation (let’s say “misinformation” instead of the more straightforward word, just to be nice) in order to dissuade women from having an abortion. They don’t offer abortion services at all.

It’s a services bait and switch.

Did you know that anti-choice “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs) have received $30 million of our tax dollars? According to the Guttmacher Institute, there are 2,500-4,000 centers nationwide, compared with about 1,800 abortion providers.

Take action to stop these clinics from deceiving women at their most vulnerable moments:

http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/crisis_clinics

(Planned Parenthood)

Stem Cell Funds Veto – Who Benefits?

Stem Cell Funds Veto – Who Benefits?

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Bush finally decided to veto something after six years: Stem cell research – a bill that even this Congress passed in both Houses.

“Now that’s something to save yer virgin veto for! All the people who might benefit from the research – well, they don’t matter so much. Those are future people – they don’t hardly count, not like those itty bitty blobs of cells so dear to the heart of that God-guy who’s gonna kill all you damn Liberals right soon. What matters is the manly action (superman!) to protect them pre-differentiated embryonic cells from study before they still get discarded. Well, we never said they wuz goin’ anywheres to thrive.”

My first line of thinking on this was simply that if this research doesn’t go forward here, it will elsewhere. Scientists in other countries will move ahead, and we won’t. Meanwhile, Rove is slinking around with his typical misinformation.
Tell me the truth – are there people who believe anything at all that Rove says? Can’t we just bestow a title, like “Duke of Propaganda and Slander,” upon him? Maybe they could have some pagentry, with flags and boots (or slippers?).

But wait! Didn’t Bush already allow limited funding of embryonic stem cell work in August 2001?
I think we should be debating bioethics on several fronts, including this one.

However, I don’t really think the Bush “virgin veto” is about morals or values – or even religious conformity.
It’s not even primarily about his “base” (did you know that’s how “al Qaeda” translates?).

This bill isn’t so much about the research itself. It’s about the funding! It’s about….privatization!

Private foundations and companies have continued funding this research, after all. It’s an investment.

Hmmm…. could it be that there might be private interests who might (gasp) want to be the ones to make all the money on this?

Maybe even…. some major contributors to Bush and the Republican party?

I wonder if someone would do a crosslisting of the likely companies who might profit from internal discoveries and applications and, say, those who were given the Medicare drug benefit to write for our legislative branch? Can we see a list of the companies who are doing this research now, and their campaign contributions?

I’m sorry to say it (and to believe it too), but when this administration talks values and morals, follow the money.

Corruption is a serious threat to our form of government, and all the more so until we have public-funded elections. The news tonight was full of horrified reporters noticing that some Katrina money was wasted and used inappropriately (they don’t mention the money that went to Pat Robertson, though). Still, we haven’t gotten much explanation of the disappearance of much larger sums through the hands of completely different segments of our population (and corporations who have been granted “personhood”).

What would be the benefit to Americans if the research was funded by the federal government, rather than by corporate interests? I’m not a lawyer, but if anyone out there has an informed opinion on the possibilities here, please comment.

About Abortion Rates

About Abortion Rates

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Interesting blog from Heavenly Kisses:

Snips:
In just three years Colorado’s abortion rates went up 111%.

Bush
Banned the morning-after pill, which wouldn’t kill a baby just prevent a pregnancy.
Stopped federal funding for sex education that teaches teens how to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy as well as help prevent the spread of diseases.
Economic policies have had the most impact on the abortion rate rising.

“The ladies were mostly unemployed, uninsured, they couldn’t afford to raise a baby. In fact if you take the rate decline in 2000 into consideration 52,000 more babies died in 2002 because Bush was in the white house….I have one question for those of you who believe Bush isn’t to blame.

Why did the abortion rate go up with George H Bush, down with Bill Clinton and then back up with George W Bush?”