Funding

I don't know if you can see the graph on the right very well. The title is Revenues. In purple: Private Contributions 28%, in blue: Health Center Income 37%, in green: Government Grants 33%, in red: other 2%. Source.

This is the revenue stream recently reported by Planned Parenthood for their year 2008-2009.

$363.2 million is the amount received in government grants - and it represents a full third of all the funds they took in for their year. A full $55.8 million was spent on "Public Policy & Others" (think political lobbying). (p.29)

If you read through the report, there are many references to politicians who have supported and / or contributed to PP. To me, it begs this question: Why are they so involved with government's (think "taxpayer's", think "your") money if they want government to stay out of their lives and choices?

More reading and commentary: here

I can't understand this . . .

A couple from Apple Valley, MN has posted an online poll and asked people to vote on it. It is open until Dec. 7, so if you have an opinion . . . . Here's the thing, they are pregnant. And the poll question is: "Should we give birth or have an abortion?". Though I haven't read it on their site explicitly, I'm presuming that they will go with the majority vote. Currently, it's 4-1 give birth.

Assuming that the child is born, how could they look this kid in the eye and tell them the story of the poll and then assume that the child still feels loved by them? That they are asking others to make a decision for them does not remove them from responsibility. Yet, with that (huge) responsibility, they are trusting people whom they don't even know with this.

Is life this "throw-awayable"?

Read the Star-Trib article here.