In October 2009, the student-run school newspaper printed an article about some controvery surrounding the local Crisis Pregnancy Center called AAA.
I decided to write a letter to the editor to voice my opinion on AAA and the so-called "services" that they provide. They didn't publish my letter the first time around. Instead, they decided to publish a bloated letter from the advisor of Students for Life. His name is Dr. Rourke. This was his letter:
[edited for brevity]
Dear Editor-in-Chief,
...although the article does not accuse AAA of being dishonest, it does present accusations made against crisis pregnancy centers in general, including the alleged use of "scare tactics," as well as an account of inappropriate counseling of a woman in the Midwest by a CPC.
We would like to clarify that two of the people cited in the article are from The Feminist Majority Foundation. They are not from this area and have never spoken to or visited AAA themselves. We also want it to be clear that AAA does not engage in "scare tactics," nor does it deceive college students.
...Even in a minor surgery such as having your tonsils out or your wisdom teeth removed, you sign waivers that represent your understanding that you can die. Many women who have gotten abortions have complained that they were not well-informed about all of the minor and major side effects, including the risk of excessive bleeding, cramping, hemorrhaging, death, as well as psychological troubles.
Since an outside organization, The Feminist Majority Foundation, was quoted and consulted in the generation of this article, we thought it only fair Call readers be aware of three things.
First, they have a national campaign of abject and unmitigated hostility to CPCs. If the FMF had its way, CPCs would all be defunded, although FMF also thinks that our tax dollars should go to Planned Parenthood (which they do), the nation's number one abortion provider.
Secondly, FMF's brand of feminism is hardly representative of Clarion University's female students. To cite just one example, when the House of Representatives passed the very modest pro-life bill, The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, in 2000, the FMF with contempt dismissed it as an "anti-choice bill," quoting a Rosemary Dempsey to the effect that the bill was "deceptive, extreme, and unconstitutional." The bill curbed abortions rights not at all, merely guaranteed legal protection to children born alive. This was in reponse to congressional testimony that babies born alive had been "left to die in a soiled utility room." The law forbade only infanticide, was eventually signed by pro-choice members of both houses of Congress, such as Hillary Clinton, but it was too much for the FMF. We will leave it to the readers to judge who the extremists are.
...Concerning the issue of counseling, consider what a typical Planned Parenthood clinic does. First of all, although they are technically non-profit, they bring in millions in "revenue" selling abortions. So they have a financial stake and advantage in the decision to abort.
Secondly, they so rarely refer for actual adoptions that they stopped including the embarrassingly low numbers in their annual reports. Finally, they provide no real hands-on support for those who wish to keep their children.
Moreover, video clips have show Planned Parenthood's willingness to accept money from people who conceded on the telephone that they were donating primarily to abort African-Americans!
AAA is a respected component of this community...they are supported by 24 local churches, 11 businesses, 137 individual donors, and other organizations that donate periodically...
I was pissed so I immediately typed a response and sent it to his campus e-mail address. Of course, I didn't receive a response from him. I did a little editing and sent almost the exact same letter to The Clarion Call. Thankfully, this time it was published. Here is my response to Dr. Rourke and Students for Life:
I’m writing in response to the article about AAA Life Services and in response to Dr. Thomas Rourke’s letter from last week’s edition of The Call.
After reading his letter, I was not pleased with the implication that the Feminist Majority Foundation is “extremist” just because they opposed the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act. Considering the misleading title of the act, it is easy to paint the opposition as extremists in the same sense that it was easy to paint all opponents of the Patriot Act as extremists.
My understanding of an extremist is somebody whose views are far beyond the norm. The FMF is an organization of people who believe in equal rights and reproductive rights. None of the missions or principles outlined on their website could be described as “extremist.”
The issue with the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act is not about infants born-alive after viability (21-plus weeks). The problem lies in the underhanded way that it seeks to ascribe rights to fetuses at any stage of development, even before viability.
Roe v. Wade clearly states that women have the right to choose an abortion before fetal viability. That is why women take issue with the “infant” protection act, because it directly contradicts the tenets of Roe, which in the future could lead to more laws that attempt to grant “personhood” to a fetus and strip women of their reproductive rights.
Dr. Rourke also claimed that FMF’s “brand” of feminism is “hardly representative of Clarion University’s female students.” Dr. Rourke is clearly not a female student attending Clarion University, and he certainly doesn’t represent me. It isn’t entirely appropriate for him to make claims about what is or isn’t representative of female students and feminists at Clarion.
Dr. Rourke does not think AAA is dishonest or deceptive, but plenty of people do. Like other “crisis pregnancy centers,” AAA Life Services has a political and moral agenda to dissuade women faced with an unwanted pregnancy from obtaining an abortion.
Abortion is a valid, safe, and legal choice for many women. Some examples can be found at www.imnotsorry.net. The risk of death or danger associated with abortion that Diane Fagley mentions is no worse than the risk of death during childbirth or carrying to term.
As stated in the article about AAA Life Services, the people who work there are not medical professionals. They have no business interpreting the results of anyone’s pregnancy test, and they certainly have no business administering sonograms. The free pregnancy tests that most CPCs offer can be purchased at any drug store for around $10.
Another option is the Keeling Health Center, where a pregnancy test can be charged to your student account later. Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania (www.ppwp.org) also offers counseling on all available options without a political or religious agenda.
AAA believes in ineffective abstinence-only education and it has little to no information about contraceptives on its website. It also lists the “morning after pill” underneath the section on abortion. That is biased at best and deceptive and misleading at worst.
On their website, they write, “there’s no hype, no politics…” and yet they frequently cite information from and link to a website called TroubledWith.com. TroubledWith is funded by Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian organization known for its homophobia, its virulent anti-feminism and its belief in a non-existent “post-abortion syndrome.” One can only assume that AAA holds the same so-called values.
That is why I, and many other people, take issue with crisis pregnancy centers
Also, I would like to see these so-called "videos" of people calling Planned Parenthood to donate money because they wanted to support abortions of African-American babies. YEAH FUCKING RIGHT...where did you see that video, Students for Life? Was it a fake video at lifesitenews.com? Such bullshit.
Speaking of bullshit, if you think Planned Parenthood makes money in "selling abortions," then you are wrong. This is a common lie. See here and here.
Interesting.
But that's not the end of things...
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