Replies

We all knew this was their attitude. This is entirely consistent with Margaret Sanger's writings.

The left has their panties in a wad over an antiabortion ad that appeared in The Houston Press a couple weeks ago. You can read the letters online...

http://www.houstonpress.com/Issues/2006-05-04/news/letters.html

Just Ad Anger

Hate is hate: I can't believe you printed that disgusting ad for American Life League [page 19, April 20]. What were you thinking? You wouldn't print an ad from Holocaust deniers, would you? Why would you print an ad accusing Planned Parenthood of genocide? You don't have to like Planned Parenthood or abortion to know that this ad stinks. Whose life is improved by its appearance? Hate is hate, in whatever venue. Shame on you.
Carole Marmell
Houston

Smearing Sanger: Planned Parenthood does more than any other organization to ensure women and families have access to the quality health care and information they need to make responsible, informed decisions about family planning. Each year we provide nearly five million women, men and teens with medically accurate sex education and reproductive health care and information. In 2005, people across Houston and throughout southeast Texas turned to us for health care in 106,000 visits for birth control, emergency contraception, breast and cervical cancer screenings, HIV testing and counseling, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and more.
On April 20 your newspaper printed an advertisement from a fringe operation whose main goal is to eliminate women's access to birth control and reproductive health care by attacking Planned Parenthood and our founder, Margaret Sanger.
Extreme groups will employ every ludicrous tactic in the book to achieve their goals, including attempts to paint our founder as a racist.
In her lifetime, Sanger urged women to use contraceptives so that they would not have to risk the dangers of illegal, back-alley abortion. She condemned the American eugenics movement for advocating that the state, not women themselves, decide who must have children and who must not. She never advocated using birth control for racist goals. In fact, Sanger worked closely with other social justice leaders of her time and believed that a woman's right to control her own body is the foundation of her human rights. She collaborated with health care providers in the African-American community to serve women who were denied access to their city's health and social services simply because of their race. Her visionary work won the respect of international figures of all races and nationalities, including the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.; Mahatma Gandhi; Shidzue Kato, the foremost family planning advocate in Japan; and Lady Dhanvanthi Rama Rau of India.
It's shameful that anti-family-planning extremists have targeted Sanger, who died decades ago, with their smear campaign. If the extremists behind this attack ad were truly concerned with reducing the need for abortion in any community, they would stand with Planned Parenthood to keep families healthy and help prevent unintended pregnancies. It is proven that access to contraception and medically accurate sex education protects women and families. Vitriolic attack ads have never done that.
Peter J. Durkin
President & CEO, Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas, Inc.

http://www.houstonpress.com/Issues/2006-05-11/news/letters.html

Ad Schlock

Beyond words: Do you, or does your ad department, even glance at the ads placed in your publication?
The outright propaganda displayed on page 19 [April 20] is beyond words. The Houston Coalition for Life purposefully took a quote of Margaret Sanger out of context, placed it below an image of a noose and a baby, with a word in large bold text that would elicit emotion in any sane person, and you printed it. While I don't hold Planned Parenthood in the highest regard, thanks to the support they lend to politicians who are in direct opposition to their cause, they play an important role in the lives of young women that goes far beyond abortion. I understand HCFL's passion for what they believe, but I can't respect the validity of their beliefs when their resorting to subterfuge erases any credibility they might have gained through thoughtful debate and responsible dialogue.
You have the ability to demand less deceitful ads from these organizations. Why don't you do it?
Name withheld by request
Houston

Here is the link to the ad:

http://www.all.org/pdf/ppad1.pdf

"We do not want the word to get out that we want to exterminate the Nego population." - Margaret Sanger

Here is People For The "American Way"'s dossier on the group:

Google Archive

And here is Planned Parenthood's own response to some quotes:

Google Archive