A beautiful thing: Planned Parenthood

[supercheesegirl]

Got this forwarded from Jorn... it made me really happy.

Several Planned Parenthood locations across the country have hit upon a clever way to profit from the throngs of protesters who picket abortion clinics -- a fundraising drive in which the clinic receives a donation for each picketer who shows up. Under the Pledge-a-Picket program, as described in a recent article in the Planned Parenthood newsletter, supporters pledge small amounts -- a quarter to a dollar -- per anti-choice protester. "It's like sponsoring a runner in a charity marathon," the newsletter says. Despite the small pledges, the money adds up for the clinics because "the picketers never go away."

The idea is that the Pledge-a-Picket program creates a "no-win" situation (or is it "no-choice"?) for the protesters: Their presence actually benefits the very organization they're protesting. The Planned Parenthood clinic in Waco, Texas, has hung a sign outside that constantly updates how much money it has raised under the program, so picketers can see that their efforts are backfiring. In the last two years, the protesters have helped the clinic raise more than $18,000, which the clinic has spent on an assistance fund for low-income women in the community.

The article gives links to several different clinics who've implemented programs like this. Now I just have to decide which one I want to sponsor, since none of them are places I've ever lived...

Comments

[queende.livejournal.com]

this is awesome!

[lizabethanqueen]

Mary Washington College in Virginia did the same type of thing when protesters came to see The Laramie Project a few years ago. They made tons of money and donated it to local charities. I think it's a great idea!

[amedia.livejournal.com]

And you know, speaking as a pro-lifer, if the money really goes to help poor women, the protesters should be happy about it too. (Although the protesters don't tend to represent the position very well - watching them on the news, I cringe the same way as when a local station decides to check out a sci-fi convention and highlight the dorkiest costumers they can find.)

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

The article on the website said specifically that "while not a significant chunk of its overall revenues, Pledge-a-Picket contributes greatly to PPCT's patient assistance fund, which helps clients who don't have resources get the care they need." So that's good.

I do have a great deal of sympathy for the pro-life ideology. I don't, however, have sympathy for people who picket clinics, because clinics do so many different things besides perform abortions. I can think of a few times when PP was my only option for an exam and I was glad to go there. I just think there are better ways to protest abortion than to picket clinics, so I was glad to see this fund-raising idea.