Activists expose Girl Scouts link to Planned Parenthood Read more: Activists expose Girl Scouts link to
When Family Watch International President Sharon Slater exposed yet another link between Planned Parenthood and the Girl Scouts last year, it never occurred to her that people would question her credibility.
Slater was aware that former Girl Scout CEO Kathy Cloninger admitted in a 2004 "Today" show interview that her iconic youth organization works with the nation's leading abortion provider.
Because of that previous admission, Slater didn't expect her credibility to be questioned when she reported that a sexually explicit International Planned Parenthood booklet was being distributed to young scouts.
However, the Girl Scouts quickly denied knowledge of the publication, prompting Slater to respond.
In March 2010, she attempted to attend a workshop sponsored by the Girl Scouts at the United Nations that was part of a conference on women's rights.
Slater wanted to simply sit in on the workshop, but she soon found herself being escorted out of the room.
"I took a seat in the rear of the room," she told WND, "But I was quickly told that the event was for 'girls only' and was asked to leave."
Slater said that she patiently sat outside closed doors, waiting for the workshop to end.
"As soon as the doors opened, I stepped back into the room and saw tables filled with participant handouts," she said.
She was shocked at the content of one of the handouts stacked on a table.
It was a 20-page, sexually explicit booklet titled "Happy, Healthy and Hot," which contained the contact information for the International Planned Parenthood Federation.
"The booklet teaches girls that they have a right to engage in any type of sexual activity they desire," she said.
"But perhaps most shocking was the advice in the booklet that if they happened to be HIV-positive it was completely up to them to decide whether to inform any sexual partner of their condition."
It was after she reported the booklet in her organization's newsletter, "The Family Watch," that she found her credibility called into question.
Her report received national media attention, but the Girl Scouts denied any connection to Planned Parenthood or "Happy, Healthy and Hot."
Found in the FAQ section of one Girl Scout website is this question and answer.
Did GSUSA distribute a Planned Parenthood brochure at a U.N. event?In the same section was this:
No we did not. In 2010 GSUSA took part in the 54th Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations. Our participation in that conference was the subject of numerous internet stories and blogs that were factually inaccurate and troubling. Girl Scouts had no knowledge of the brochure in question and played no role in distributing it."
Does GSUSA have a relationship with Planned Parenthood?Slater and a number of other concerned Girl Scout leaders and parents determined that the organization's hidden agenda needed to be exposed.
No, Girl Scouts of the USA does not have a relationship or partnership with Planned Parenthood.
"The more we investigated, the more disturbed we became. In fact, we were shocked at the breadth and depth of the information we found," Slater said.
Slater said that most parents have no idea "what ideas and values their daughters may be exposed to" as a current Girl Scout, so she's carefully documented the findings of her team on her website.
"If I were a parent of a Girl Scout, I would want to know the information presented on this site," she said.
Slater told WND that only "carefully investigated and documented claims will make it to the website."
Visitors to her site will find links to documents, screen shots, financial statements and even audio and video of Girl Scout leaders admitting connections that the GSUSA officially denies exist.
WND attempted to contact Girl Scouts USA representatives numerous times for this article, but messages were never returned.
Slater is far from alone in her quest. In a Nov. 6 column in the Washington Times, Rebecca Hagelin writes this description of the recent National Girl Scout Convention held earlier this month in Houston:
In contrast to the Boy Scouts of America – an organization I have long supported and recommended – the Girl Scouts of the United States of America has been co-opted as the functional arm of the Democratic, feminist establishment. It dupes millions of American families into believing that its only mission is to promote wholesome leadership activities for girls.Hagelin said most parents, however, "don't know the true agenda of today's Girl Scouts."
Two sisters, Tess and Sydney Volanski, made headlines earlier this year when they left the Girl Scouts after eight years.
They explain on their website:
We parted ways with the organization when we discovered that they have a pro-abortion mindset. We refuse to remain silent while this organization's unscrupulous principles mislead over 2 million girls in the United States alone.They too have had their motives questioned.
We created SpeakNowGirlScouts.com in order to spread the truth to others who have no idea what GSUSA's true intentions are.
Some comments from readers following a Houston Chronicle article regarding the sisters accuse the ninth and 10th graders of vying for a Christian College scholarship rather than truly caring about abortion and family values.
The mother of the two girls, Christy Volanski, told WND people have accused her of "seeking my five minutes of fame from this issue."
"Who are they kidding?" she asked. "Do you know how much easier life would be to ignore it? But that's not the right thing to do."
She said the Girl Scouts deny any involvement with Planned Parenthood, "even though it can be proven."
"They just need to be honest," she said.
WND reported in August that numerous parents and girls are following the lead of the Volanski girls and leaving the Girl Scouts.
WND also reported Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood clinic director who became a pro-life advocate, has acknowledged the Planned Parenthood-Girl Scouts relationship in her blog.
She recalled as a Planned Parenthood employee handling a Planned Parenthood brochure that had the Girl Scouts of the USA logo on the back.
The brochure was titled "How to Know You are Ready for Sex."
Pro-life advocate Kevin Williams told WND in an interview that "the heart of the matter" is the Girl Scouts need "to practice 'Truth 101' and admit the connection to Planned Parenthood once and for all."
"People come into the Girl Scouts with a perceived 'goodness' about the organization," he said.
He believes the GSUSA is abusing its "imprimatur," or authorization.
"The GSUSA is a 'brand,' and they know of and approve of everything that is involved with their brand," Williams said.
Williams recently traveled to Houston to support Jane Petry, a 67-year-old, life-long Girl Scout and leader who picketed outside the GSUSA National Convention in Houston earlier this month.
She wanted parents and girls attending the conference to know that money spent with the Girl Scouts on dues, clothing, cookies and materials supports a radical pro-abortion agenda.
She says of her beloved Girl Scouts in the following video, "They have totally veered off course and I am now ashamed of them."
Petry told WND she felt compelled to speak out because of the dishonesty she contends is prevalent in the current leadership of the GSUSA.
When she arrived in Houston, the Girl Scouts told her they had rented not only the convention facility but the public sidewalk on which she was standing.
They forced her across the street when she first arrived with her message until her supporters enlisted help from the Houston Police, enabling her to approach the facility.
"I was rather annoyed at the Girl Scout's honesty in telling me I couldn't stand on the sidewalk. Not a very nice thing to do," she told WND.
Why did she travel from St. Louis to Houston to stand outside the Girl Scout convention?
"My mother, myself, my three daughters and my two granddaughters have all loved Girl Scouts and now see it is as a political machine for the liberal, progressive, feminist message," she said.
She said the changes are demonstrated by the speakers at the recent conference.
"It is a sad day for the girls of this country, as he who owns the youth, owns the country," she said.
She told WND that "the Girl Scouts have been co-opted by radicals with an evil agenda, and they need to be exposed."
Petry told WND that she prays for the leaders of the GSUSA. She also knows that her message is resonating, especially in her hometown.
"I know many women in their 80s who were leaving money to the Girl Scouts that have recently been changing their wills," she said.
She noted the Girl Scouts bring in $714 million a year just from cookies.
"The GSUSA is big business," she said.
GSUSA's website says: "Through its membership in the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), Girl Scouts of the USA is part of a worldwide family of 10 million girls and adults in 145 countries.
Petry, Slater and Volanski continue to sound the alarm. Along with 100QuestionsForTheGirlScouts.org, there are carefully researched websites providing documentation such as SpeakNowGirlScouts.com, HonestGirlScouts.com and GirlScoutsWhyNot.com.
On Slater's site are questions such as:
Why did GSUSA co-found and why do they continue to maintain membership in and give millions of dollars to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), when WAGGGS aggressively promotes abortion and comprehensive sexuality education, trains girls to "talk about sex" and partners with radical pro-abortion organizations like International Planned Parenthood (IPPF)?"
And:
"Why did Girl Scouts of the USA hire as their media relations spokesperson who signs press releases for their campaign to portray women and girls positively in the media, an individual who has been featured singing in a music video that portrays a woman being strangled, featured in another video supposedly masturbating in a pile of newspapers while the camera cuts back and forth between him and a provocatively dressed woman, and whose band sings songs like "Sick Days Are for Sex?"
Slater told WND, "It should be evident that there are serious problems with the Girl Scout organization."
Another video that proves Slater's message is not falling on deaf ears is this Living Waters clip introducing 10-year-old Sarah, who say's she quit the Girl Scouts because "if even one penny of my money goes to support abortion, it's one penny too much."
Slater's website, 100QuestionsForTheGirlScouts.org, shows that more than one penny of every dollar of Girl Scout money goes to support abortion, and she says, "People need to know the truth."
