Lies, Lies, and Damned Lies
It was Monday when we received word that we would get our temporary occupancy permit. It came on the heals of three reports that clear Planned Parenthood Chicago Area of any claims of fraud in obtaining building permits. We opened Tuesday, yet one question still hangs in the air over fraud accusations and they belong to our opposition. Anti-choice columnist Dennis Byrne admits that the movement supports lies:
Undercover and real experience stories document over and over the lies that pervade the "crisis pregnancy clinic" industry. The lies don't stop even at a center's honesty of not providing abortions. The lies continue as they tell women that abortions cause breast cancer. The National Institutes of Health states clearly that having an induced abortion does not increase your chance of breast cancer. Current research also states that there is no increased chance of depression after an abortion. There are even studies that show that abortion is a symptom of depression rather than the cause. In other words, if you're already depressed, you might not care about birth control, forget to take your pill, etc. Studies are still on-going.
But science is not what these so-called clinics are all about.
What is most shocking is that our money is supporting these lies. According to Ms. Magazine:
And because of the lies and the tax-payer money that supports the lies, US Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced a bill called "the Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services Act. The bill, which died in committee after being first proposed by her last year, would require the Federal Trade Commission to enforce truth-in-advertising standards for organizations claiming to offer abortion services." This would be just one step in the right direction.
The anti-abortion/contraception forces are not in business to help women. They are in business to lie to women and tell them what to do. But when the US Supreme Court feels the same way*, they have no reason to stop.
*See Justice Kennedy's award for Patriarch of the Year.
Pro-choicers will respond that pro-lifers are devious when they operate "crisis pregnancy centers" that aren't upfront about how they're trying to talk pregnant women out of abortions. That's not true of all such centers; many Web sites operated by the centers clearly state that they offer "abortion alternatives." Those that are trying to pose as abortion providers should stop; they are as guilty of dishonesty as the abortion industry.
Undercover and real experience stories document over and over the lies that pervade the "crisis pregnancy clinic" industry. The lies don't stop even at a center's honesty of not providing abortions. The lies continue as they tell women that abortions cause breast cancer. The National Institutes of Health states clearly that having an induced abortion does not increase your chance of breast cancer. Current research also states that there is no increased chance of depression after an abortion. There are even studies that show that abortion is a symptom of depression rather than the cause. In other words, if you're already depressed, you might not care about birth control, forget to take your pill, etc. Studies are still on-going.
But science is not what these so-called clinics are all about.
What is most shocking is that our money is supporting these lies. According to Ms. Magazine:
A 2006 study by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform also reported that 87 percent of the CPCs they investigated gave false and misleading information linking abortion to such health issues as breast cancer, infertility, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite medically discredited information and practices, CPCs have received considerable government support. Since 2001, they have been granted $60 million in government funds—some from congressional earmarks designated for pregnancy support and health services, but most from the Bush administration’s abstinence- only programs (as CPCs promote abstinence for unmarried people). As a result of this financial windfall, CPCs have flourished under the Bush administration and now outnumber abortion clinics in the U.S.
And because of the lies and the tax-payer money that supports the lies, US Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced a bill called "the Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services Act. The bill, which died in committee after being first proposed by her last year, would require the Federal Trade Commission to enforce truth-in-advertising standards for organizations claiming to offer abortion services." This would be just one step in the right direction.
The anti-abortion/contraception forces are not in business to help women. They are in business to lie to women and tell them what to do. But when the US Supreme Court feels the same way*, they have no reason to stop.
*See Justice Kennedy's award for Patriarch of the Year.
Labels: fake-clinics, health care, lies, planned parenthood
posted by Veronica at
6:40 AM
1 Comments:
If a lie gets repeated over and over it becomes "truth." It's called the BIG LIE. It's how the right wing noise machine has operated for years. The pro-choice movement needs to call a spade a spade and embark on a campaign to bring out the distortions and lies of the anti's. The progressive community has finally started to do this with Iraq, etc. We must take a similar approach with the anti's. Never let their lies go unchallenged.
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