Waco Girl Scout Council Severs Ties With Planned Parenthood After Boycott

LifeNews.com ^ | February 24, 2004 | Paul Nowak

[WildReeling]

Waco, TX (LifeNews.com) -- The Bluebonnet Council of the Girl Scouts of America has issued a statement that it is severing ties with the local Planned Parenthood affiliate, and said it will no longer sponsor conferences run by the abortion business.

Less than three weeks after John Pisciotta of Pro-Life Waco called for a boycott of the annual Girl Scout cookie sale, the board of directors of the Waco area council voted to end their partnership with Planned Parenthood of Central Texas. The decision comes almost a month earlier than expected, as Council Director Beth Vivio said previously that the council would take up the issue at their meeting on March 25.

"Girl Scouts does not provide support to Planned Parenthood, nor do we have any national collaboration or relationship with that organization," reads a statement issued from the group's board of directors. "We believe issues related to human sexuality and reproductive health are best left to families to discuss with their daughters.

"While the Girl Scouts - Bluebonnet Council has sponsored Planned Parenthood's "Nobody's Fool" teen and pre-teen education event in the past, we will not be doing so this year, nor will we be sponsoring similar entities such as the Waco 3R Coalition," the statement concludes.

Pisciotta, an economics professor at a local university, said the boycott alone did not provide the pressure to end the relationship.

"The pressure came when local, web, and national news outlets picked up the story," Pisciotta told LifeNews.com. "The result was a firestorm of protest about the local Girl Scout and Planned Parenthood entanglement."

Pisciotta said that in addition to a deluge of calls and emails to the Waco Council, which encompasses 6,000 girls in 14 counties, the national headquarters, and Girl Scout councils nationwide, several local troops demanded "town meetings" with Council leadership.

"The Girl Scout leadership found 90% opposition to their alliance with Planned Parenthood of Central Texas," said Pisciotta. "As one scout mom put it to Beth Vivio, ‘Your link to Planned Parenthood is forcing us to choose between our religious faith and Girl Scouts.’ Faced with a crisis of public relations that was growing each day, the Council initiated the divorce."

Planned Parenthood officials were "shocked" by the decision.

"The children of Central Texas now have been given the clear message that the bullying tactics of a few are more successful than an informed democracy," Pam Smallwood, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Central Texas said in a statement.

Smallwood had been recognized by the Bluebonnet Council as a "Woman of Distinction."

[WildReeling]

Haha, Smallwood is *almost* as good as the Iraqi Minister of Information. If it was only a few why did they cave?

[farmfriend]

bttt

[MCRD]

Maybe Smallwoods problem was small wood.

[Mamzelle]

Bump--wonder how the concrete business is doing in Austin in re Planned Parenthood?

[TaxRelief]

bump and ping!

[Darksheare]

Girlscouts and (un)Planned Parenthood...
There's just something WRONG about there EVER being ties between them, EVER.

Brings to mind horrible tasteless jokes, which I will not post.

[EdReform]

Good news bump!

[Johnny Gage]

YEEEEEEHHAAAWWW. Chalk one up for the good people.

[Gil4]

"The Girl Scout leadership found 90% opposition to their alliance with Planned Parenthood of Central Texas... // "The children of Central Texas now have been given the clear message that the bullying tactics of a few are more successful than an informed democracy," Pam Smallwood.

Baghdad Bob would be proud of that spin attempt.

[Lucky Dog]

"Smallwood is chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Central Texas. She has served on the boards of the Texas Women's Health and Family Planning Association and the Texas Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. Smallwood is active in Rotary Club and the Lake Shore Baptist Church," [emphasis mine] reads the description of her achievements in an article on her receipt of the honor in Waco Today, a magazine produced by the Waco Tribune.

I don’t know of an Baptist Church that supports Planned Parenthood’s abortion stance. This church owes someone an explanation.

[LiteKeeper]

SPOTREP

[nickcarraway]

BUMP

[Tax-chick]

Thanks for the ping ... good news! Did you get my e-mail about camp openings?

[F16Fighter]

A "let-the-shrapnel-fly" PING!

[BushisTheMan]

Your link to Planned Parenthood is forcing us to choose between our religious faith and Girl Scouts.

Thank God for these parents.

[DannyTN]

I've been looking at American Heritage Girls, as an alternative to the Girl Scouts, but it appears to be a rather small organization. Anyone know anything about them?

[hoosierham]

It's not the size of the group but whether they share your values. EVERY group started small and grew.

[Sgt_Schultze]

..."The children of Central Texas now have been given the clear message that the bullying tactics of a few are more successful than an informed democracy," Pam Smallwood,"

Regarding Pam's desire for an "informed democracy", I wonder if she would like to justify the racist tennets of Planned Parenthood as expressed by its founder, Margaret Sanger.

[Thumper1960]

""The children of Central Texas now have been given the clear message that the bullying tactics of a few are more successful than an informed democracy," Pam Smallwood, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Central Texas said in a statement. "

Someone must inform the "Woman of Distinction" that we live in a Republic and not a "democracy".

[sausageseller]

Could it be this Lakeshore Baptist Church in Waco?
http://www.lakeshorewaco.org/