In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

“Pro-Life” Concern for Life Really Does End at Birth

Jill

I know we’ve said it over and over: “Pro-lifers” don’t seem to care much for “life” once people actually enter the world. They oppose contraception access, which could prevent millions of abortions; their political allies take no steps to assist low-income women; they oppose universal health-care; and they generally stand against any social program that would actually help women and children. In fact, 100% of the worst legislators for children are “pro-life.”

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise when anti-choicers oppose programs that help born people secure shelter. And yet, even I was stunned at this:

An anti-abortion group has broken up a deal between Planned Parenthood and Habitat for Humanity by blasting out 10,000 e-mails to Habitat supporters.

Planned Parenthood is building a 23,000-square-foot regional headquarters on Central Avenue, and planned to sell Habitat the land next door for a token $10 to build three below-market-cost houses. The deal benefited Planned Parenthood because the city required the clinic to put up buildings as a buffer between its parking lot and Cohen Way.

“We could have put up any building we wanted,” said Barbara Zdravecky, president of Planned Parenthood. “We wanted to donate the land so Habitat could build more attainable housing.”

So Planned Parenthood sold a large piece of land to Habitat for Humanity for $10 — PP needed buildings to go up in the space, and they figured that they would use the requirement for good. But “pro-life” groups were so outraged that they shut down the project — a project that had nothing to do with abortion, and only meant that there would be more attainable multi-family housing in Sarasota. According to the American Life League, the problem is any “association” with Planned Parenthood. Even when Planned Parenthood is essentially giving them a gift. Even when the “association” has nothing to do with any of Planned Parenthood’s activities, and simply amounts to more housing for low-income families.

Take action to counter anti-choicers’ stranglehold on the “life” issue: Go here to tell national Habitat for Humanity that they shouldn’t let themselves be bullied by anti-choice, anti-life asshats. And go here to donate to Habitat — and let them know that pro-choicers are their base.

Thanks to Thomas for the link.

29 thoughts on “Pro-Life” Concern for Life Really Does End at Birth

  1. For fuck’s sake. I sent my letter, but this really does boggle the mind. And right now, I’m sitting here trying to figure out in what crazy-ass world I would be upset if Operation Rescue donated land to Habitat for Humanity to build homes, so long as there were no strings attached. If, as in this case, something needed to be built on the plot so that Operation Rescue could open a headquarters, so what? Like the PP spokesperson said, they’re not going to have trouble finding someone else to build there. They’re going to open anyway.

    I have no idea how these nuts think their actions are harming Planned Parenthood. My best guess is that they want to prevent PP from getting good press and being publicly recognized for what it is — an organization that helps low-income individuals and families.

  3. I emailed HFH. I volunteered for them when I was in college, helping to build and repair houses. It was a great experience and I wish I still had time to do it. I guess the pro lifer’s motto is “Save blastocysts, screw live humans”.

  4. I emailed them, so did my second-oldest sister, and I emailed this post out to all of my pro-choice friends.

  6. Yep, sent my letter, too. In fact, my law firm was going to sponsor the building of a home here in Lexington. I may have to re-think that if they do cave in to the pressure of these woman-hating nutjobs.

  7. I have no idea how these nuts think their actions are harming Planned Parenthood.

    They’re harming PP by delaying its plans and costing it money. They’re also publicly stigmatizing any organization that openly associates with the abortion provider. PP may claim it won’t have trouble replacing HFH, but it probably didn’t think it would have any problem with the HFH transaction in the first place. Other organizations will think twice about taking HFH’s place, if only to the avoid controversy and expense.

    PP might as well sell the space to a crisis pregnancy center, since there’ll be one opening up across the street soon enough anyway.

  8. I imagine they are offended by the very idea that a woman might decide to carry a child to term NOT EXCLUSIVELY “because it’s a baby,” but perhaps because she could afford to have it (with the potential availability of affordable housing). In their minds, there is only one moral, “right” reason not to abort, and it’s not because the woman can afford to raise a child. I intuit that they will be happy with nothing less than every woman who discovers she is pregnant, no matter what her situation, having as her first thought “well, gosh, now I’m having a baby! end of story.”

  9. Motherfuckers. I just sent off my email.

    I’m familiar with the housing situation in Sarasota; the low-income areas have been getting gentrified at an insane rate since the housing boom started. The property taxes (state and local) have been getting jacked up even faster, which has been having the predictable effect on the less than affluent–they’ve been pushed further and further from their jobs at a time when gas prices won’t stop going up. Now that the construction rate has ground to a halt because the houses that were built last year still aren’t selling, the people who were able to keep their heads above water thanks to well-paying or at least high-hour manual labor are losing their shirts. The local Planned Parenthood clinics are also one of the few places teens and women can go for realistic education and care, thanks to the weird demographics and the general lack of means amongst the under-40 crowd.

    For an out-of-state organization to pull this bullshit when Planned Parenthood serves almost the exact same demographic as the local Habitat for Humanity is flatly infuriating.

  10. I just sent my letter. And it looks like they just might return our letters.

    Cara, your comment reminded me of something I saw a lot on a message board I used to visit. Several people (mostly teens) who were anti-abortion called themselves “social pro-lifers,” meaning that they want there to be a world where women and children have more social supports so that abortion wouldn’t have to be legal. What they didn’t get was that women’s organizations believe in social welfare that helps women and children, but they don’t believe that women’s bodily autonomy has to be sacrificed in the process. Anti-choice organizations don’t do anything to help to help families. I think a lot fewer people would call themselves pro-life if they were more aware of the work that anti-choice organizations do (or don’t do, rather).

  11. If anyone’s interested in kicking some money toward this particular branch of Planned Parenthood, their site is here.

  12. wow… the pro-lifers sure are busy being a-holes lately, aren’t they? even more than usual it seems.

    what an amazing thing for PP to do, and an incredibly crude way of pro-lifers reacting. they couldn’t just protest outside of the PP or anything, no they had take away a great project for a great cause.

    unbelievable.

  13. “PP may claim it won’t have trouble replacing HFH,”

    It won’t. That property is only a few blocks from downtown, in an area the city’s been spit-shining for about five years. They redubbed it a “historical district” seven or eight years ago and started paying more attention to keeping the public land well-maintained. The local land-grab has slowed down, but there are still plenty of developers who’d love to get their hands on cheap property in the heart of the city. Since what they’re after is filthy lucre instead of the warm fuzzies, I doubt they’ll scare as easily as an organization that’s dependent on donations. The convenience of the location is almost assuredly one of the reasons PP is opening their own new center there–it’s not only more easily accessible by the people who need their services the most, it’s extremely close to the main commercial district and all the county buildings.

    That’s the biggest kicker of the whole thing–I can’t imagine a much better place for a new set of houses specifically for families in need. I should add that it’s not like this is stopping a new Planned Parenthood from opening its doors. The new center will be replacing an existing one farther south, only with expanded facilities, newer equipment, a line-up kiosk for people who just need birth control supplies (which is awesome). There will also apparently be proper rehearsal space for their troupe, who occasionally make local headlines when some whackjob schoolboard member flips out about teens hearing that teen pregnancy is usually a bad idea for all involved from a group of teen actors sponsored by Planned Parenthood.

  14. In fact, 100% of the worst legislators for children are “pro-life.”

    That is just absolutely stunningly telling. Wow.

    I sent off a little e-mail as well.

  15. Somebody answer this for me? Why did HFH honor pro-lifers complaints? It was, after all, HFH’s choice wasn’t it?

  17. Pro-lifers have a single agenda: they want to punish women for having sex. It is as simple as that.

  18. sent my letter. such a joke. it’s unreal that these people would go out of their way to A) show that they’re only pro-pre-life and B)…

    wait, is there a B?

    I’m seriously disgusted. I am happy I might have coined a term in pro-pre-life ( I know fetuses are alive, but it’s catchy, right?)… but other than that, HFH should really grow some balls and not get pressured by a bunch of pathetic assholes whose only mission in life is to ruin the lives of the living.

    I love pro-choice people when they say ‘ok, no abortions, and we’ll give you all of the children that come from unwanted pregnancies’… and they then say that those children aren’t their responsibility… and THEN they oppose contraceptive access…

    I mean, you can’t get more pathetic than that. Ok, you can, but jeez.

    My cat is snoring. Seriously. Thanks for posting this.

    J

  19. I’ve been a Habitat donor for years so I decided to call them. They said that 1) local affiliates are independent organizations and make autonomous decisions, 2) the local affiliate made the decision because of the amount opposition they received from Habitat donors, and 3) the national organization supports the decision of the local affiliate. I told them that given that most of their donors had no knowledge of the issue and thus no chance to give their opinions meant that they were being responsive to an organized effort and not necessarily the wishes of their donors and if they were going to make decisions based on donor attitudes, they owed all donors the opportunity to give an opinion.

    I admire the work done by Habitat which is why I’ve supported them, despite the fact they are an overtly Christian organization because it seemed to me that their religious beliefs were a motivation for service rather than self-righteousness and judgment. Now I’m having to re-think that and if I want to keep donating to them.

  20. The really telling thing? It’s not like the “pro-life” group said, “We object to you building affordable housing on land you bought cheap from Planned Parenthood, so we’re going to offer you this other suitable land for the same price or less.”

    No, they just said, “Don’t take their offer or you’ll be sorry.”

    So is this blackmail or extortion?

  21. Ahh! I love looking at blogs like these. Your “enlightened” liberal sensibilities are always expressed in blasphemies, profanities and vulgarities. You don’t see people using the f-word or taking the Lord’s name in vain on pro-life sites.

    Hmmm.

    I’ve never met a liberal who really cares about children. I’ve met plenty of pro-lifers who go out of their way to help actual families in need. You guys just want to pass everything off to the Government while you enjoy your Starbucks and your McMansions and your hedonistic lifestyles.

  22. What I’m confused about is the whole “planned parenthood gives pornography to children” claim.

    What is THAT all about?

  23. If both the local and national Habitat thinks that it’s just skippy to cave in to those scumbags, they’ll never get a dime out of me.

  24. Hey JC

    I have never met a conservative who truly cared about children other than their own, straight, conforming kids. They may not swear, but they are willing to kill brown kids overseas to “save them”, and they throw out their gay kids when they come out or lock them up. I’ll take a curse or two over outright murder anyday, thanks.

  25. “What I’m confused about is the whole “planned parenthood gives pornography to children” claim.

    What is THAT all about?”

    Having the temerity to make accurate and comprehensive sex-ed pamphlets to minors.

  26. …one sentence and I manage to screw it up. Le sigh.

    For having the temerity to make accurate and comprehensive sex-ed pamphlets available to minors.

  28. Hi, first post but regular reader/admirer. Here’s the letter I sent to HTH, I’m curious if I was clear enough or got the tone right.

    “To Whom it May Concern,

    I have always been a strong supporter of your message at Habitat for Humanity, and have participated in projects within several communities with great pride in the cause I was aiding.

    I am extremely disappointed by your decision to fold to fundamentalist pressure in Sarasota. By allowing an intolerant group such as the American Life League to block the achievement of your own purpose, you are sending a message that indulging their prejudice is more important than providing housing for those in need.

    To reject a land gift from Planned Parenthood is as culpable as their claim to protect life while blocking an attempt to improve the life of people enduring unimaginable hardships. Of course human life is important, but why should that stop after birth? By choosing to place their hostility towards Planned Parenthood before the good that would have been accomplished by the use of that land, this group made a clear statement of their priorities. By surrendering to their intolerance, Habitat for Humanity has made that same statement. While you do have a religious foundation, there is no preference stated in the Bible for helping an unborn child at the expense of your neighbor.

    If the cause for this lapse in judgment was simply financial, please think to the donors and volunteers you lose by sending the message that sectarian doctrine dictates the operation of your charity. Habitat is aided by people of many opinions and faiths, and a stand against this kind of bigotry could have gained even more support from the millions who believe that people deserve to be helped, regardless of their personal profession.

    Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and please consider the message you send when a fundamentalist group is allowed to speak for your organization.

    Still wanting to help humanity, but not longer sure if I can rely on HFH,”

    (also, do you guys have a “no-response” policy to trolls? If so, that is admirable, because I can’t help but want to set the poor silly things straight–or on their ear, if they make me mad enough :-[ )

  29. I’ve never met a liberal who really cares about children.

    You need to get out more.

    I’ve met plenty of pro-lifers who go out of their way to help actual families in need.

    They elect representatives who don’t follow that example at all, so what does that say about how dedicated they really are to their so-called values?

    You guys just want to pass everything off to the Government while you enjoy your Starbucks and your McMansions and your hedonistic lifestyles.

    Sorry we’re having more fun than you!

Comments are currently closed.