timberlandko wrote:Planned Parenthood is an organization, real life, which is composed of numerous essentially aitonomous chapters, all of which provide referal and counseling saervices, some of which operate or are associated with clinical medical facillities. That some chapters of Planned Parenthood operate clinics does not equate to "Planned Parenthood provides abortions"; some Planned Parenthood chapters do, the organization itself does not. Pointing to the services of the Planned Parenthood chapter you pointed out (Planned Parenthood of South Central Michigan) as "verification" of your point is verification of nothing more than that that particular chapter is one of hundreds of chapters which operate under the banner of Planned Parenthood. Some chapters do operate their own clinics, offering "in-house" a variety of products, services, and proceedures. Many chapters do not operate their own clinics, but are affilliated with other independent clinics or hospitals. All that aside, the pricing you cited, I mention again, is considerably "below market" for the products, services, and proceedures provided, a circumstance which greatly inconveniences your profit-motive thesis. Planned Parenthood may be - is - many things, but it isn't "In it for the money". There is plenty for which Planned Parenthood legitimately may be criticized, and for which I happen to criticize the organization, but a vested financial interest in the legality and profitability of abortion, as you assert, simply is not one of those things.
Now, I'd be happier with Planned Parenthood if they were more open and honest about their counseling thrust; they do advocate vigorously for abortion, almost to the exclusion of other ex-post-facto solutions, but they also offer proactive contraception advice, education, and assistance, and provide a valuable service in the interest of preventing and treating STD's, as well as advocate strongly for a greater role and responsibility for the male in the matter of contraception and reproductive responsibility. With the bad, they do some good. As I said, I'm not pro-Planned Parenthood, but if you're going to criticize something, criticize it for what it is, not for what you might wish to portray it to be.
For instance, I do not, in my criticism of contemporary Christianity, contend that all of its adherants are misinformed, bigoted, agenda-driven, brainwashed, sanctimonious hypocrites incapable of critical thinking and devoid of logic or reason.
Kinda weak, but I guess it's the best you can do.
It's kinda like saying "GM doesn't sell cars". Yeah we all know their dealers do and they are autonomous, etc.
To most folks, Planned Parenthood IS their local chapter. They know nor care much about the umbrella organization.
It is factually correct to state that Planned Parenthood provides abortions since the identity that these chapters use is that of Planned Parenthood.
Perhaps you were not aware at the time that these abortion clinics are operated by the local Planned Parenthood offices. Perhaps you did think that PPs role was essentially that of a referral agency. If you or anyone else was under that impression, well, now the cat's out of the bag.
These agencies not only charge for these services, but also receive government funds AND donations, both in considerable amounts. So your "below market rate" statement hardly has any bearing.
Many businesses operate on a profit margin of 5% or less. So it doesn't take much $$ differential one way or the other to make an enterprise profitable. The fact that PPs abortions may or may not be somewhat lower in cost does not mean that the abortion trade is a not lucrative cost center for PP.
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But the fact the PP provides abortions for cash is only a side issue. If they did it for free, they are still destroying a child in the womb.
The child has a heartbeat and brainwaves at a very early stage and to deny this child of the right to live for the sake of the convenience of the mother is despicable.
The figures that I cited from AGI show that an overwhelming majority of abortions are for basically convenience reasons, amounting to an attempt at a backstop for contraception.
Operators of pro-life crises pregnancy centers state that when a pregnant woman is counselled only to carry the child to term, a very large percentage still opt for abortion instead. But when she is allowed to see her unborn on an ultrasound machine, a large majority decide to carry the child to term. They understand that what they see is a baby.
