DISCLAIMER:
This posted by Teka, who is an admitted liberal pro-choice feminist. Views in this post do not necessarily speak for the entirety of the Hloggers. However, as this blog is generally read by females and pro-female types, it's important that word on this get out.
For any Sens fan contemplating entering the Ottawa Senators "Better Halves" Christmas tree raffle this year, take a good hard look at where the money it raises is going. The First Place Pregnancy Center lists numerous pro-life sites on their links page, and turns out to be a "Crisis Pregnancy Center", which, according to Wikipedia, "are non-profit organizations established by pro-life supporters that work to persuade pregnant women to give birth rather than have abortions, with a focus on women facing unplanned or "crisis" pregnancies. "
Planned Parenthood Ottawa has released a statement here, in which they encourage fans to recognize the aims of the First Place Pregnancy Center before giving money to support it.
More information assembled from Birth Pangs here and here
Another view here from Unrepentant Old Hippie.
Feministing.com's take is here
Please be a conscientious consumer-money speaks!
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
DANGER Will Robinson!
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8 comments:
This blows. Nuff said.
You know what blows? That we have to issue warnings against giving money to organizations that want to save babies.
I'm all for freedom of choice too, but why does it seem that the only people free to express their views in public are the ones who are pro-choice?
I just spoke to my friend yesterday who adopted a kid in May. She tried several rounds of IVF treatments and went through years of anguish trying to get pregnant.
She finally has a beautiful son that came to her through open adoption - because someone made a different kind of choice.
I realize not all pro-life organizations do good work, but I'm sick of pro-life being a dirty phrase in our national discourse.
Feel free to delete my comment if you like. I just had to say my piece.
I have absolutely nothing against women that decide to keep babies or give them up for adoption. I take the "choice" part of pro-choice very seriously, meaning that I realize what may be the right thing for me to do may be the wrong thing for someone else.
My issue with the whole concept of "crisis pregnancy centers" is that they don't present all the options, and often attempt to force their opinions on women already in a delicate emotional state.
What organizations any of the Hloggers or assorted readers choose to support are none of my beeswax, and I'm fully aware of that. However, the fact that Sens fans might have been inadvertently giving money to an organization they didn't actually support was of concern to me, and I just wanted to get the word out so people could make an informed decision.
Teka,
Your views and inentions are fine and dandy. It's just that when I follow the links in your post, I come across labels like "fetal fetishists" that I think are nasty and unfair.
There's nothing fetishistic about wanting to speak up for the weakest and most vulnerable among us.
However...I do not, in any way, support brow-beating women in a time of crisis. That's not acceptable. But not all faith-based organizations do that. I'm sorry to see them all painted with the same brush.
As a Sens fan who bought a raffle ticket before realizing what I was supporting, I think I will wade in here.
While my personal position is pro-choice, I don't really have a problem in accidently supporting an organization that advocates non-abortion. In a free society all sides should be able to make their points known. I'm OK with anti-abortionists stating their postion and supporting it.
What bites me is that I also accidently supported an organization that uses irresponsible scare tactics and hyperbole to advance their cause. I really dislike having to support intellectual dishonesty. And it got worse because once news of the controversial links got out, the First Pregnancy organization changed their site to remove them and further hide their real position. Now potential doners will have even less information on who they are supporting.
I blindly trusted the Sens Foundation as the backer to this and certainly won't make that mistake twice.
I will now make addional donations directly to the other supported charities to assuage my guilt.
Blitzen that's a pretty gutsy statement, and I think everyone has their own views in this. But I think this kind of group would be akin to a political party when put into a raffle - you gotta state yourselves before you leave others kicking themselves in the shin. I don't think my view on abortion would help any of the matters - but this isn't giving a good name to any of the parties in it.
Whoa - don't get me wrong. My issue isn't about pro-life or pro-choice. It is with the information that First Pregnancy linked to as supporting information to their cause. As reported in the article by the reporter, the links were to organizations that make statements that "linking corporations that make birth control drugs to the Jewish Holocaust and one drug itself to Nazi death camps. Others were grotesque: “One baby in 30 left alive after medical abortion”." This is what I mean by using hyperbole to advance their cause. When I went to check these out, the page had been changed on December 3 which I believe was remove the controverial links because they had become too hot politically - not, I believe, because they changed their minds about them. This to me is intellectually dishonest.
Once again, for the record, I am fully agree that pro-life advocates have every right to try to convince others that their position deserves consideration. Absolutely. I object when any argument, on any subject, gets mean and dirty. That's why I can't stand most talk radio - it's not about having a civil discussion.
That my donation is going to a pro-life organization is not an issue. It's that it's going to a pro-life organization that resorts to these tactics is my beef.
This is the only time I'm going to chime in about this because I'd rather not this to get out of hand. The issue is in fact controversial and you're entitled to your opinion about it, although I personally don't think personal views on the pro-life, pro-choice discussion is really relevant here.
I don't see what the big deal about the issue is. Why? Because as far as I can tell, the 'Better Halves' have been extremely up-front about what the raffle campaign is about and where the money is going to. YOU'RE in charge of your money and you're the one that needs to make the decision and be conscientious of where your money is going to. If you don't believe in the organization, then don't give them your money. I understand how people might find FPPC's practices objectionable, but if people actually do believe in what they do then they have ever right to want to support it. The Sens Foundation website is also very clear with the services they provide and if you inadvertently give money to something you don't believe in, then that's not really anybody else's fault.
I also do have a problem with Ms. Mallick's characterization of the wives and girlfriends, simply because I don't think it contributes to what she's saying at all. I know we've said our piece about PBs here, but it is simply not her place to pass judgment on who the women choose to marry.
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