Author: Freddie
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What Every Pro-Lifer Needs to Know About The Girl Scouts’ Link to Planned Parenthood
by Christy Volanski | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 12/4/13 7:12 PM
Is there really a connection between the abortion industry and the Girl Scouts? It’s heart-breaking and, for some, despite the mounting evidence, impossible to believe.  After all, who wants to acknowledge that the Girl Scouts, an organization that should stand for all that is good and pure, has succumbed to the infiltration of the abortion rights agenda?  And what a sad testament to the state of our country today, when we can no longer tr ust the Girl Scouts, an American icon with influence on over 2 million girls in the United States alone.
As a concerned pro-lifer who supported the Girl Scout organization for many years, as a girl member and as a troop leader, it saddens me to share the fall of this once venerable organization that to this day retains the support of so many wonderful women and girls, many of whom are unaware of what they are actually supporting. But families deserve to know the truth.
There are a lot of accusations in the blogosphere about the Girl Scouts. Some are fact, like the Girl Scout organization works alongside abortion providers and funds/promotes abortion rights advocacy groups. And some are sensationalized, like Girl Scout cookie money pays for abortions (although cookies do fund Girl Scouts’ concerning agenda).  So what is the real truth about Girl Scouts? Let’s break it down – below are factual and verifiable pro-life concerns about Girl Scouts that all pro-lifers and families should know.
Girl Scouts teams-up with abortion providers 
Girl Scout USA (GSUSA) is quick to assure concerned members that the national level of the organization has no partnership with Planned Parenthood. But GSUSA fails to disclose further relevant information.
GSUSA omits the fact that it allows every l ocal Girl Scout council – the arm of Girl Scouts that actually connects with girl members in their local communities – to work with Planned Parenthood. Hear it from the horse’s mouth, the GSUSA’s national spokesperson, at this link. Many Girl Scout councils are doing just that, teaming up with their local Planned Parenthood in various ways. A few recent or on-going examples include:
•	Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas, Girl Scouts Gateway Council and Girl Scouts of Western New York, alongside Planned Parenthood, maintain memberships in coalitions and/or serve on committees for groups which advocate for abortion rights or comprehensive sex-ed.
•	Girl Scouts of Western New York works with Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups in programs aimed at tween/teen girls to reduce teen pregnancy.
•	Girl Scouts of Northern California refers “at risk” girls to Planned Parenthood for help with family planning.
•	Girl Scouts of San Diego featured a Planned Parenthood “Community Engagement Manager” as a speaker and role model at an event for girl members.
Additionally, GSUSA does not disclose that it maintains membership in the Coalition for Adolescent Girls, a collaboration of about 40 organizations, in which GSUSA joins international abortion provider Marie Stopes and many other pro-abortion organizatio ns to address global issues affecting girls. The Coalition’s agenda specifically advocates for abortion related care and comprehensive sex education for adolescent girls.
And finally, GSUSA fails to tell us that the international level of the Girl Scout organization, the  World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), which counts every Girl Scout in the world in its membership of 10 million girls, frequently works alongside In ternational Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) to advocate for abortion on demand for youth. In fact, IPPF credits its close partnership with WAGGGS for its increasing success in reaching youth with the IPPF message of sexual and reproductive rights. Keep in mind, that while WAGGGS is busy working with IPPF, GSUSA generously funds WAGGGS with $1.5 million annually through a membership quota payment, based on number of registered GSUSA members.
Girl Scouts’ pro-abortion role models for girls
The list of role models GSUSA recommends for our girls includes many women who are iconic abortion rights advocates.  You can see more concerning Girl Scout role models at this link, but for now, here’s just a few of many examples:
•	Margaret Sanger – GSUSA provides girls, as young as 11 years old, a list of speeches by “Eloquent Women” to assist them with their pub lic speaking badge. Recommendations include   Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger’s speech advocating for a women’s right to birth control. Other eloquent women speeches promoted by GSUSA include Lady Gaga and Sally Field both advocating for same sex marriage, a curious recommendation given that GSUSA claims it doesn’t allow advocacy for a particular lifestyle or sexual orientation. Hey, isn’t there something in the Girl Scout Law and Promise about being honest?
•	Gloria Steinem – For nearly 50 years Gloria Steinem has been a prominent leader in the abortion rights movement. Steinem proudly participated in the “I had an abortion” campaign to remove the stigma of abortion and is a committed supporter of Planned Parenthood.  In the official Girl Scout curriculum for girls, sold and promoted by every Girl Scout council in the United States, Girl Scouts thanks “women’s rights activist” Steinem for her “visionary contributions.& #8221;
•	Betty Friedan  – Girl Scouts’ curriculum also names NARAL founder Betty Friedan and her pro-abortion organization National Organization for Women (NOW) as “voices for good.”   Girl Scouts devotion to Friedan should come as no surprise to us, given the fact that she served for 12 years as a GSUSA board member.
In addition to the role models in Girl Scout curriculum, local councils also award and honor pro-abortion politicians and abortion rights advocates such as Texas Senator Wendy Davis, recent New York mayoral candidate Christine Quinn, Planned Parenthood’s Margaret Sanger awardee Dolores Huerta and others.
Girl Scouts promotion of abortion rights advocacy organizations and resources
Curiously, there are no pro-life groups recommended by the Girl Scouts curriculum for girls. However, Girl Scout curriculum does recommend many abortion rights advocacy organizations and resources like:
•	WAGGGS.org – Girl Scouts tell girls to check out WAGGGS.org which advocates for abortion and contains other concerning content.
•	DoSomething.org – Girl Scouts promotes this resource which refers girls to Planned Parenthood for contraception and to the Guttmacher Institute for a guide to minor’s abortion rights
•	Idealist.org – Girl Scout directs girls to idealist.org, which lists hundreds of paid and volunteer jobs at Planned Parenthood, to learn more about being an advocate.
•	ACLU – Girl Scouts encourages girls to consider several advocacy careers including as an ACLU lawyer.
•	Amnesty International and Population Council – Girl Scouts recommends girls research these pro-abortion organizations on the internet.
Learn more here about the organizations featured in the Girl Scout curriculum and additional problematic recommendations by local councils.
What about the cookies?
GSUSA will try to assure you that all the proceeds from cookie sales stay local to benefit girls in their community. But the rest of the story is that GSUSA makes millions of dollars each year through licensing fees paid by the baker.   The girls themselves keep on average approximately 15% of the purchase price from working their little tails off peddling cookies, while the local councils – which expose our daughters to pro-abortion organizations, resources, role models,  and events –  receive the largest piece of the profit from cookie sales. The reality is most councils could not survive financially without the help of those cute girls participating in cookies sales, the councils’ main source of income.
It’s hard to say n o to those little sweethearts in the green and brown sashes. However, I just can’t bring myself to fund GSUSA and local councils, and further facilitate their indoctrination of our daughters. I’m not a big boycotter. But to me this is different than giving money to Chevron, Gap, Nike, or any of the other hundreds of organizations that fund Planned Parenthood. This is about girls – millions of girls.  
 
 Girl Scouts’ position on abortion
What is GSUSA’s official position on the killing of unborn children in the womb? GSUSA’s official policy is that the organization takes NO POSITION on abortion. Given this enlightening fact, should we really be surprised that the Girl Scout organization works alongside abortion providers, holds up radically pro-abortion role models for our daughters, funds/promotes abortion rights advocacy groups, and refers girls to pro-abortion resources?
Additional resources
Hopefully, the above documented and factual information will help guide you as you consider your support of, or participation in, Girl Scouts. For additional perspectives and information, please visit the following resources (or feel free to post a question in the blog comments):
MyGirlSco utCouncil.com – documents pro-life concerns at the council, national and international levels of the Girl Scout organization
Missouri Right to Life – formal Policy Statement on the Girl Scouts urges citizens to carefully consider supporting GSUSA in any way and documents many concerns
Archdiocese of Kansas City – provides list of resources documenting WAGGGS/GSUSA issues
SpeakNowGirlScouts.com – two teen sisters who are former Girl Scouts share their concerns about the organization
Wholesome alternatives – American Heritage Girls, Fidelis, Little Flowers Girls Club
LifeNews Note: Christy Volanski is the mother of two former Girl Scouts who created the website Speak Now Girl Scouts to expose the link between the group and the Planned Parenthood abortion business.