There has been a cacophony of news lately regarding Planned Parenthood. I won’t spend any more of my time (or yours!) belaboring the heinous nature of selling baby body parts. I think most people who read this blog will agree they are in the murder for hire business. There has been a fairly large movement building that urges the government, either state or federal, to defund Planned Parenthood. As a citizen, I can’t agree more. They should be defunded. Even more, they should be shut down.
Nevertheless, when it comes to defunding Planned Parenthood, should we be looking only to our government to do the defunding? Sure, government is providing money to them and it is a big part of their income; and, I urge you to let your representatives know where you stand on this issue. I am suggesting, however, that there is likely another entity that supports Planned Parenthood. Who might that be you ask? YOU… That’s who!
That sounds harsh; but, most people are unwittingly giving money to Planned Parenthood. This can happen in one of three different ways. And guess what? You have control over each of them. One of those ways includes giving to United Way without designating where your money goes. Yes, I get it. Every year about this time someone from the office comes around shaking every single soul who works there down for United Way giving. If they meet their goals they get coffee cups, t-shirts and drink koozies. I quit donating that way years ago. There are repercussions though. When I was in the service, and the coordinator did not get 100% participation, somebody was going to pay dearly for this transgression. Consequently, since I liked my job, I gave the minimum and washed my hands of it. However, United Way takes these un-designated monies and divides them up among all the organizations on their list. Since Planned Parenthood gets quite a bit designated, their share of the undesignated funds is fairly large. If you’re going to donate through United Way, I suggest you research and designate to whom your funds will be given. Designate!
Along the same vein, we have the Susan G. Komen Foundation. They do breast cancer research right? Yes they do. Sadly they also take money you have donated to Susan G. Komen and give it to Planned Parenthood. Surprised? I was. I hate it that a valuable women’s health organization has chosen misappropriate these funds. Save the tatas and kill a baby? Nope, not me! The American Cancer Society will be getting my money thank you. Bye the way, March of Dimes is in on it as well.
The third way people inadvertently pay for Planned Parenthood’s budget is through their own purchases. There are many, many corporations that make direct contributions to them. Not only that, some of these companies will double an employee’s contribution to United Way if they designate Planned Parenthood!
Do you do your banking at Bank of America? How about Wells Fargo? Do you buy Levi Strauss Jeans? Drink Pepsi? Do you use Microsoft products on your computer? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you have been donating to Planned Parenthood. These companies take money from their profits and fund Planned Parenthood directly. Guess what happens when you give them profit? Yes, that’s right, you’ve helped fund Planned Parenthood. Sadly, I must report that I am guilty as well since this post is being typed on a computer using Microsoft software. My next computer will likely be an Apple.
We have choices here people! Instead of guzzling down that wonderful Macchiato from Starbucks (They donate directly to Planned Parenthood and double employee contributions), perhaps you could choose to buy your coffee products from a local coffee house. They make good espresso as well; and, there are lots of them. And, I would bet the house almost all of them are not sending money to causes you don’t like. On a side note, local coffee shops will also keep your money in the local economy.
How exactly then does one sort out Who’s Who in the Planned Parenthood ring of corporations? There is an organization called 2nd Vote you can find here. This organization keeps track of a huge multitude of companies and then evaluates them on a variety of issues including second amendment record, environment, marriage (a.k.a. LGBT issues) etc. as well as pro-life issues. You can find a list of corporations that directly donate to Planned Parenthood by visiting 2nd Vote – Planned Parenthood. You’ll have to set up a user account with your name and email. Then you can log in and see who is making the donations. Interestingly, they also have apps on their website (as well as in the Apple store for iPhone and the Play Store for Android) for smartphones. You can very easily check out a company while shopping. I urge you to try them out. It will definitely assist you in making well informed decisions.
I hope this has been helpful in showing you ways in which you can take defunding Planned Parenthood into your own hands. If you have any helpful comments, please feel free to contact me at casey@threerustynails.org.
Until next time….
Blessings,
Casey
©2015 Casey O.Hooper