03/30/2006

Planned Parenthood Lures Teens with iPods and Movie Tickets

WASHINGTON, March 30  -- “Win an iPod. Get two free movie tickets. Take ten dollars off your first visit. These are some of the schemes Planned Parenthood is using to lure teenagers into its deadly facilities,” said Douglas R. Scott, president of Life Decisions International (LDI). “Planned Parenthood has resorted to common corporate tactics in an effort to get young people to encourage their peers to voluntarily become the pro-abortion group’s new victims. Just how low and disgusting can Planned Parenthood get?”

Anyone who makes an appointment at one of the eight facilities run by Planned Parenthood Golden Gate (PPGG) before April 30, 2006, can enter to win an iPod. “Now which age group is most likely to be swayed by this kind of gimmick?” Scott asked. “This incentive is clearly aimed at young people.”

A poster announcing another Planned Parenthood program, called “Tell-A-Friend,” includes a photograph of a teenage girl whispering into the ear of another teenage girl:

GET FREE MOVIE TICKETS? YES WHEN YOU TELL A FRIEND ABOUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD

Teens are asked to obtain a Tell-A-Friend card at a local Planned Parenthood office or download one from a Planned Parenthood website. “Give Tell-A-Friend cards to any friends who don’t go to Planned Parenthood,” the details state. “When they come in for an appointment--and turn in your [Tell-A-Friend] card--we will mail you two FREE movie passes, and your friend will receive $10.00 off their visit.” The movie tickets are redeemable at any United Artist theater.

A version of the Tell-A-Friend card used by PPGG includes the same artwork that appeared in its infamous animated video “A Superhero for CHOICE,” which depicted the “elimination” of Christian activists. The card states that to be eligible for the free movie tickets the teen referral(s) must be new to Planned Parenthood or they must not have used its “services” for at least two years. PPGG lists its “services” on the card: birth control, annual exams, pregnancy testing, STI [sexually transmitted infection] testing & treatment, HIV testing, and emergency contraception. By contrast, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains simply uses a small sheet of paper that does not include anything but the most basic information about the Tell-A- Friend program.

“Just like any other business, Planned Parenthood utilizes programs designed to bring in more customers. Just like any other business, a key target group for Planned Parenthood is young people,” Scott said. “And just like any other business, Planned Parenthood seeks to get more young people in their doors to increase the size of their already overflowing coffers—funds often provided by taxpayers. And once a teenager is hooked, he or she can prove to be a good source of income for many years to come.”

Scott said a revenue source is not the only reason Planned Parenthood is targeting young people. “Unlike any other business, Planned Parenthood has an agenda. Once a young person enters a Planned Parenthood facility, the group can preach its doctrine of death without the interference of parents or other family members.”

LDI is currently investigating to determine if United Artists donated the tickets to Planned Parenthood or if they were purchased by the group.

CLICK HERE to view copies of the actual Planned Parenthood documents referenced in this press release.