The United Way & The March .ofDimes: A Warning From his book, Grand Illusions: The Legacy of Planned Parenthood

by George Grant

The United Way ned Parenthood as a direct recipient of Founded in 1918, United Way of funds, continue . to support . hot lines,

Apterica is the world's largest coopera- family counseling centers, health set-rive coalition of charity organizations vice agencies, and community associa-in the world. I Its multi-million dollar tions that counsel for abortion and refer annual effort not only distributes much clients to the organization's abortu-needed cash to local private sector ser- aries.8 vice providers, but it provides program Nationally, United Way, over the support and consultation in. the areas of years, has strongly defended its commit-"fundraising, budgeting, management, ment to Planned P~nthcxxl and has ·

· ··· - ---fund--·distribution;- planning,--and -com .. - ---: eensistently upped -its share-of the an- · rnunications."2 It conducts major na- . nual fund-raising bounty.9 It has evert

ned Parenthood," he remembered, "all I had to do was to ask for a negative designation. They really wanted me to stay · with the program. The trouble with negative designations, though, is that Planned Parenthood gets a set per­centage of the United Way total. That is pre~arrartged. So, no matter how I desig­nate or don't designate, the very fact that I've made a United Way contribu­tion-raises the total that Planned Parent- . hood gets. Negative designations are, thus, a sham. My protest would be ir-tiona! media campaigns, produces fllms gone so far as to entangle itself in Plan-

and audio-visual presentations, adminis- ned Parenthood's political spats, 10 even ters staff and volunteer development to the point of risking its OWn tax-training, and publishes dozens of book- exempt status.ll lets, pamph~ets, and dire~tories every J~m Sin~Ieton ~s an executive ~ith year.J It asststs local service groups by an mtetnatiOnal oil tool manufacturmg conductingcompany-wideandcommuni- company based in Oklahoma City. Al-ty-wide campaigns and cultivating in- ways active in civic affairs and commun-creased corporate giving through donor ity development. he has long been an development programs.4 United Way enthusiastic sponsor for United Way's funds help organizations, like ·the Salva- corporate program. "I would personally tion Army, Goodwill, the Red Cross, go to each of our employees," he said, and Big Brothers, do what they do best: "and encourage them to give. I would care for the needy.S Millions of dollars help executives in other cmnpanies set every year are used to strengthen the up incentive programs. I even did some work of drug rehabilitation, medical re- volunteer work at the regional United search, emergency food relief, sheltering Way office." the homeless, crisis counseling refer- Jim's enthusiasm was dampened sig-rals, legal services to the poor, and job nificantly when he discovered that the re-training for the unemployed. 6 funds he had worked so hard· to raise

But they also go to Planned Parent- were being used for Plan11ed Parent-hood-- millions of dollars worth every hdod's abortion and birth control cru-year.7 Even those few local United Way sade. "I went to several of the directors groups that have yielded to pro-life pres- and board members to see if there was sure over the years, and removed Platt~ any possibility of dropping that sup•

port," he said. "But they ~ere all

A leader in the pro-life movement for more than a decade, George Grant is the author of five boo~ includ- . ing THE DISPOSSESSED: Home­lessness in America IN THE SHA­DOW OF PLENTY: Biblical Prin­cjpjes of Welfare and Poverty, THE CHANG1NG OF THE GUARD: Bibli­cal PrinciJlles for Political Action, and BRINGING IN THE SHEAVES: . T.r'!nsfonning Poverty · · ·rnto · · Produc­tiVIty.

He lives with his family in the piney woods of east Texas.

thoroughly comnlitted to mirlritaining the status quo. The thing is, they were very defensive. It was like this subject had already been driven into the groimd and they weren't even willing to discuss it anymore."

Of course, they didn't want to lose Jim altogether, so they proposed an alternative. "They told me that if I didn't want my donation to go to Plan-

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relevant." · Frustrated, Jim pulled his company

out of the program. "The whole reason I worked so hard for years to raise money was to help people. To learn that my efforts were actually having the opposite effect was terribly sobering. Now, every time I see one of those United Way ads during football games, I have to wonder how many other folks there are in the same boat -- wanting to help, but doing it in a completely mis­begotten fashion. It is tragic."

The March of Dimes Founded in 1938 by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the March of Dimes is one of the world's premier pri­vate sector health and medical associa­tions.12 Dedicated to the prevention of birth defects, it raises nearly millions of dollars each year for education, research, and service. It works to imf:rove mater­nal and newborn health. 3 It makes basic clinical grants to hospitals and universities for perinatal and genetic study programs.14 It sponsors medical conferences, coordinates syrnJ)osia, and publishes literature. IS Since it success­fully led the fight to cure polio dUring the early fifties, the March of Dimes has become a symbol of hope for mil­lions of parents all around the globe.l6

But it has also placed itself at the forefront of the Planned Parenthood

The Counsel of Chalccdon, December, 1988

movement17 Since the early sixties, it has increas­

ingly turned its attentions away from curing genetic disorders and birth defects to detecting and eliminating them.18 And, as a result, amniocentesis and abor­tion have become its chief concerns, consuming a vast majority of its fund­ing.19 Instead if trying to solve the problem of birth defects, the March of Dimes now disposes of those problems by funding "search and destroy" mis­sions.

Eighty-eight percent of all March of Dimes geneticists favor abortion-on-de­mand.20 Seventy-one percent argue that if amniocentesis diagnostic tests prove a child to be defective, he should be ter­minated regardless of the stage of preg­nancy.21 A large number even revealed that they were involved in live fetal ex­perimentation and fetal harvesting.22 This despite the persistent claims of the organization that it is "abortion neu­tral."23

The connection between the March of Dimes and Planned Parenthood is not just philosophical. Many faithful donors would be shocked to discover that the money they have given over the years to "help fight birth defects" has actually wound up in Planned Parenthood coffers.

In 1980, for instance, the March of Dimes gave more than one-half million dollars to a Planned Parenthood abor­tionist for a major research project 24 The results of the study, published in Obstetrics and Gynecology, has been widely heralded in pro-abortion circles and selectively circulated by Planned Parenthood affiliates all around the coun­try.25

In response to pro-life criticism of its close relationship with Planned Parent­hood, the national office of the March of Dimes called its critics "ideological zealots eager to invent new enemies."26

Today, the kinship between the two groups is friendlier than ever. They display and distribute each other's litera­ture.27 They refer clients back and forth to each other's programs.28 They co­operate in sponsoring genetic research and perinatal medical conferences.29 And they support each other in their

political lobbying efforts.30 Joseph Resnick, for years, was a dedi­

cated March of Dimes fund-raiser. And for good reason. "I felt that I owed a deep, personal debt to the March of Dimes," he told me. "See, in 1954, when I was fourteen-years-old, an epi­demic of polio myelitis was sweeping across America. My mother and my younger sister both were stricken. For weeks, both of them lingered near death. Then they were both confined to an iron lung for months on end. Today, though, thanks to the March of Dimes, they are both healthy, productive citi­zens. My mother uses a cane to walk, but my sister shows no effects of the disease at all."

Joseph's mother and sister were both a part of a March of Dimes therapy pro­gram for almost a year and a half. "Without the March of Dimes, neither of them would have had a chance of re­covery," he said.

Not surprisingly, Joseph tried to show his gratitude to the organization by working hard every year in its fund­raising drive. "My wife and I ran our local campaign six out of seven years in the seventies," he said. "But then, around 1978 or 1979, I began to detect a major shift in the organization's in­terest and concern. Then, in 1981, my

Grand Illusions: The Legacy of Planned Parenthood

by George Grant

This brilliant expose of one of the most insidious decepfions in history, namely

Planned Parenthood's butchering of millions of unborn babies while main­

taining an image of doinJtgood, is available, free, for your $2.).00 su bscrip­tion, renewal or any $25.00 donation, !o

The Counsel of Chalcedon

pastor showed me a number of surveys and studies that implicated the March of Dimes in major abortion and amnio­centesis research, in cooperation with groups like Planned Parenthood. Well, I was outraged. Not at the March of Dimes. But at my pastor! I was angry that he would even entertain the thought that the organization I'd worked so hard to support was compromised morally."

Joseph immediately set out to vindi­cate the organization and prove his pastor wrong. "The next couple of weeks were very painful for me. I made a number of calls. I wrote letters. I read articles. I made inquiries. And, in the end, I was forced to admit that my pas­tor was right I was devastated. Here was an organization conunitted to life, promoting death. It broke my heart. I felt ashamed, embarrassed, and humili­ated."

For some time, Joseph tried to work within the organization to change the Planned Parenthood orientation. But all to no avail. "I f'mally had to come to the conclusion that the March of Dimes was just not going to change. That it was unchangeable and unredeemable."

Fortunately, Joseph's commitment to fighting birth defects did not end with his break with the March of Dimes. Today, he is actively involved with The Michael Fund, an internationally re­spected pro-life genetic research founda­tion.32 "Now, I'm actually helping kids live and live better."

Endnotes

1. Karen E. Koek and Susan Boyles Martin, ed., Encyclopedia of Associa­tions, 22nd ed. (New York: Gale Pub­lishers, 1988), p. 1015.

2. Ibid. 3. Ibid. 4. Ibid. 5. "Help for Hard Times: United Way

Services" brochure (Houston: United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast, 1982.

6. Ibid. 7. Dugan, p. 2. This figure is an

estimated total of both national and local giving patterns.

(Continued on page 36)

- The Counsel of Cbalccdon, December, 1988 --------------------------------------------------Pagc31

United Way . ~ - ,.------~~----~--~--~--------~--~--~--~~ .· . .

Continued from pag~ _31 .. 8."~ffectively Fighting United Way," .

ALL. About Issues, December 1981, pp. 24-25; and see Marshall,. pp, 20-~1.

. 9. Dugan, p. 7~ lO"United Way and PP: Bedfellows

of Destruction,'' ALL. About · Issues. July 1982, pp. 44-45.

11. Ibid., ·p. 44. 12. Koek andM~1 p.ll17 . . .13. Ibid. 14. Ibid. 15. Ibid. .·16. "March of Dimes'' information

packe~ American Life Lobby; 1985, pp. 10-14. . .

11. Ibid, p: .u. . · ·· :-t& Rolr~rr·Peters; ''March -of 'Dimes:­No Excuses," ALL. About :Issues, · July 1985, pp. 32-33.

. 19. Ibid, p~ 63. 20. "March of Dimes and . the

Unborn: what You Need .to Know Before You Give" . brochure, Minnea• · ·

·polis Human Life Alliance, 1977, p. l. . '21. Ibid.,- p. 2. . .

22. "The March of Dimes .ancl Abor- . tion," ALL .. About lssW!s, Octo~. 19S2, pp. 34 ..

Z3."March of Dimes"i nformation paeket, .American Life Lobby, 1985, p. 10. .· . . ' ' .

24. MOD News, June.23, .1980. · 2S . . P. G. SqJbblefield, et al., '':Fertili~

ty Af~r Induced Abortion:.·. A Prospec-:­tive Follow-Up Study," Obste~cs.' and · Gyri~ology 62:2, (February 19&4)~ pp . . 186~19~. . .

26. "March of Dimes" information packet, American Life Lobby, 1985, p. 12. .

27. -Linda Wallace, "The. MIU'ch· of Dimes-Planned · Partmthood Connec~ tion,'~ Te~as: Nurses for Life News, Fall . 1983, p. 3.

28. Ibid., p. 4. 29; lbicf:., p. 3 . .. 30. Ibid., p. 4. 31. For more information about The . ·

Michael fuM, write to International ,·, Foundation for Genetic Research, 400 .

1, '.

t ' '· .. ' . . . .. , .. ;

·. ANOB/GYN . . ; • . . . . . .

SPEAKS OUT ABOur

----~------~---- ,· ·-ABORTION·; INJURIES

l was the medical director of .-the -first · abortion ·-clinie in--my· state. However; I have since re'" signed,. and I no longer do abor­tions. I saw first~ hand that abor­tion abuses women. Women are being damaged physically and emotionally.-- and I wlll not be

. silent!

· Doctors who do abortions . should be held accountable for the damage they are doing to the minds and bodies of women. Ma).practice in abortion is wide­spread!

"When . you are . injured in an abortion, you are expec­ted to suffer-and simply be silent."

I know of no one who is work'" ing to correct this injustice like the American Rights Coalition. They are a national abortion com-

Dr. Beverly McMillan. MD, OB!GYN

plaint clearinghouse with -a · work .. set 'UP . to . help .. you.. . . . problems, concerns, artd fears ·are serious to them. The American Rights Coalition can direct you to medical, legal, and ·• emotional help. · ···

·lf you think . that some• of yout problems are ·due to your abor•· tion~ contact them~- let them·help you . . They can tell you what to do . next . ' ·

As a doctor, but more im~ portantly as a woman, my. heart goes outto you. I know the paiJI, the loneliness· and hopelessness you must feel My prayers are for you. ·

/)llit1h0 tt,itt-· lkdiL~~ Dr. McMillan is a physician in private practice ..

AMERICAN RIGHTS COALITION . . ····

Penn Center Boulevard; Room 1022; .· , .

3661 Brainerd Rottd• Suite 205 • Cllizttaoooga, TN 374il l:.S00-634·2224 Monday- Friday, 9AM -:SPM,

EIJSUrn Sfaluitud Time Pittsburgh, PA 15235.· . . . .. ..

[~epriQted, by permission; from. Grand . ...... __ _,......, _ _,_......, _________________ __ Illustons: The Leg_a.cy of Planned Parenthood, ·. · ~yGeorgeGrarit;Wolgemiith aM Hyatt, Pub-: ·;,· · lishersi lnc.J. Eirentwood, T~npessee, lW, · ....._ ______________ .....____..........;........; ______ .........,_.....;. ______ .....:...__.........;_' .,· pages 54-bB-] · U

."··

Page36-----------------------------~~---------------------------- The Counsel of Chalccdon, December, 1988 ~