An Indiana mother recently accompanied her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend to one of Indiana’s Planned Parenthood clinics, but they unwittingly walked into
a“crisis pregnancy center” run by an anti-abortion group — one that shared a
parking lot with the real Planned Parenthood clinic, and was designed
expressly to lure Planned Parenthood patients and deceive them.The group took down the girl’s confidential personal information and told her to come back for her appointment, which they said would be in their “other office” (the real Planned Parenthood office nearby). When she arrived for her appointment, not only did the Planned Parenthood staff have no record of her, but the police were there — the “crisis pregnancy center” had called them, claiming that a minor was being forced to have an abortion against her will.
The “crisis pregnancy center” staff then proceeded to wage a campaign of intimidation and harassment over the following days, showing up at the girl’s home and calling her father’s workplace. Our clinic director reports that she was “scared to death to leave her house.” They even went to her school and urged classmates to pressure her not to have an abortion.
Behind the Story: The anti-choice movement is setting up so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” across the country. Some of them have neutral-sounding names and run ads that falsely promise the full range of reproductive health services, but dispense anti-choice propaganda and intimidation instead. And according to The New York Times, there are currently more of these centers in the U.S. than there are actual abortion providers! What’s more, these centers have received $60 million of government grants.They’re being funded by our tax dollars
On a side note, Dilettante has asked that I include something on shared household/childrearing duties from a feminist perspective. First, it's hard to be too worried over whose turn it is to do the dishes when you can't control your own body. Secondly I am probably the wrong person to talk about this because until recently I have had very little interest in sharing a household with anyone. I am the Red Queen after all- I don't like to share authority with anyone, but with that comes a certain expectation of responsibility. When I have had another adult around - things become fairly egalitarian though. For instance, my current partner and I are both fabulous cooks, so we trade off cooking responsibilities and Kid is learning how to wash dishes, so everyone contributes.
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