For 100 Years, Planned Parenthood Has Silenced Millions Of Women, Including Me

For 100 Years, Planned Parenthood Has Silenced Millions Of Women, Including Me

The Federalist - Wednesday October 19, 2016

by Abby Johnson

Following Planned Parenthood’s celebration of their 100th anniversary over the weekend, where PP and allies proclaimed “100 years strong” a chorus of women are telling a different story.

Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards said in a recent interview that she finds it “exciting” to hear women tell their abortion stories. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine also recently said they “trust women,” and that’s why they support abortion on demand and funded by taxpayers.

Why do Planned Parenthood and their allies only “trust women” and only want to hear women’s stories when they agree with Planned Parenthood? Why do they work to silence any women who disagree with them? Don’t our stories matter?

Throughout history, women have often been treated as second-class citizens and their voices silenced. But this is 2016, and all women deserve to be heard. Planned Parenthood has consistently claimed to “care” for women “no matter what” and champion “women’s rights”—yet they frantically silence any woman who thinks women deserve better than Planned Parenthood.

I Know Planned Parenthood Really Well

At Planned Parenthood’s 100th anniversary, I find it important to tell my story, too. I worked for Planned Parenthood for eight years and was director of one of their abortion facilities in Texas. I got involved with their organization because I fell for their talking points and believed we were helping women and that Planned Parenthood wanted to reduce the number of abortions in America. I was wrong.

In August 2009, and much to my surprise, I was told to double our abortion quota to increase our facility’s income. A month later, I saw a 13-week-old baby fight for his life against the abortion instruments. In that moment it became clear that Planned Parenthood doesn’t want to reduce the number of abortions and that women’s lives aren’t really their priority.

This was the exact moment when I realized I could no longer stay at Planned Parenthood. Abortion wasn’t an unfortunate solution to the problem of an unplanned pregnancy. Abortion was a product Planned Parenthood was selling, and at an astronomical rate.

I left Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry in 2008, and I now stand together with more than 300 former abortion clinic workers in an organization called “And Then There Were None.”

“And Then There Were None” is a network of former abortion clinic workers who are stepping forward to tell our stories about what really happens behind the closed doors of Planned Parenthood and abortion facilities across America. We are stepping forward because our voices deserve to be heard, and America deserves to know the truth. We are not the only ones who deserve to be heard. ATTWN is 300 strong, but we’re only one side of the story.

Planned Parenthood Has Silenced Millions of Women

What about the women who mourn the loss of their child after an abortion? What about the women who regret their abortions? And what about the women, like Tonya Reeves, who lost their lives after undergoing an abortion at a Planned Parenthood facility? Will Planned Parenthood allow their stories to be heard?

What about the beautiful stories of true female empowerment and motherhood, like Britney Spears’ little sister Jamie Lynn Spears, or “16 and Pregnant” star Catelynn Lowell? Don’t their stories deserve to be heard?

What about the women like Claire Culwell, who survived abortion and now speaks publicly on the topic? Doesn’t Claire deserve to tell her story?

At 13 years old, Claire’s mother had an abortion. A few weeks later, Claire’s mom went back to the doctor and was shocked to hear she’d been pregnant with twins. Only one of the two babies had been aborted. Claire was born several weeks early, with dislocated hips, was adopted by a beautiful family, and now is married with a child of her own. Will Planned Parenthood continue to silence Claire and her abortion story?

Then there are the more than 7 million children Planned Parenthood has aborted. What about all of the baby girls who have been aborted in Planned Parenthood clinics, who are unable to speak for themselves?

Planned Parenthood Cares, All Right—About Money

Planned Parenthood has spent the past 100 years covering up the truth with creative rhetoric, political games like spending $30 million ahead of November’s election, and constantly referring back to their slogan: “Care, no matter what.” The American people are smarter than that, and we know America deserves better than anything Planned Parenthood offers.

For 100 years, Planned Parenthood has told women they don’t have a voice unless they agree with Planned Parenthood. For 100 years, Planned Parenthood has pressured women into buying their rhetoric and joining their cause. For 100 years, Planned Parenthood has told women that they aren’t strong enough to be mothers and they can’t achieve their goals without abortion and birth control.

For 100 years, Planned Parenthood has treated women as commodities. For 100 years, Planned Parenthood has exploited women to increase business revenue. For 100 years, Planned Parenthood has treated the children of the women they claim to serve as garbage—often literally throwing their bodies out with the trash.

I am saddened that for eight years of my life I worked for Planned Parenthood and played a role in their deceit. Now I stand with the countless women of this great nation who proclaim Planned Parenthood isn’t 100 years strong, but rather 100 years wrong.

Women deserve better than Planned Parenthood. Every woman deserves to be heard. Every woman deserves to feel truly empowered—and that’s something Planned Parenthood doesn’t offer.

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