Shirley Moore

My name is Shirley Moore and I am a recovering dupe, a victim of deception. Are you one too? I pretended for a hopeful moment that Planned Parenthood (PP) was out of the schools when they were removed from the approved speakers’ list on February 25, 2011.

But parents ought to know they have been covertly embedded for years in the education profession through teachers’ associations, PTA and the family life curriculum. They often play the role of “curriculum guidelines” policeman to maneuver their programs into the schools. It seems to have worked three years ago when they won approval from the Knox County Schools (KCS) to present their marketing pitch to the captive KCS audience.

The fly in the school reformers’ ointment was that they tore the cover off PP by putting them on the approved speakers’ list in 2008. It must have seemed the PP brand was acceptable now as it had never been before (even to Dumb Tennesseans, as one Knoxville News Sentinel letter writer recently called us). But was it really? A fracas ensued in the school administration building when parents discovered their presence in the schools in the fall of 2010.

The questions they raised about their fitness to be there showed it still isn’t a reputable brand. (And even Planned Parenthood supporters get squeamish when their association with them is made too public. That’s why the Life Decisions International Boycott list works…given time and persistent boycott participants.)

By removing all outside groups in the area of sex education, the Superintendent has undercut any abstinence presentations. Since no outside groups are presenting overtly, there will be no apparent need to “opt out.” But “opt out” was always a toothless maneuver as Planned Parenthood’s material and worldview can be woven into as many subjects as possible throughout the school day.

A Planned Parenthood trained teacher can serve it up in subtle ways. It’s called “comprehensive sex education.” Be aware: the hidden hand of Planned Parenthood remains in the KCS schools via teacher training seminars. The Superintendent admitted as much in the WATE-TV interview after the April 6 School Board meeting. It was a “yeah but, no but, yeah but” bumbling statement, but it’s there.

But what does our School Board think? We don’t know. They fired themselves from their jobs in 2008 by signing an agreement with the Superintendent promising not to dissent in public. Odd way to go about Racing to the Top. The top of what? The heap? But what’s in that heap? A heap of parents, the community, and our local democracy, for starters. Evidently, we can’t discuss it in public and that should tell us all we need to know about the secrecy and arrogance operating in this matter.

Shirley Moore
Knoxville, Tennessee

I was disappointed in the Knoxville News Sentinel (KNS) editorial about sex education in Knox County Schools.

I’m not a KNS basher. Some of my conservative friends say it’s a liberal rag. I laugh because I remember what the Charlotte Observer was like, when I lived there in the late 1980s. That paper was comical, sort of a cross between the Washington Post and the old Pravda. But in all my time in Knoxville, KNS has covered my newsworthy activities faithfully and without prejudice. They have accurately printed my letters and I hope they will keep doing so.

But I was disappointed at the misstatements of fact in this editorial, as well as the failure to recognize and address the key issues. Perhaps it’s too much to expect. After all, I struggle to be competent on just one or two subjects. I can’t imagine having to become an expert on a new topic every day.

The most obvious error was the statement that Planned Parenthood (PP) “offers abortion services in some locations across the country but not in Knoxville.” In 2009, the KNS itself reported that PP “will dispense RU486, the ‘abortion pill,’ to women up to nine weeks pregnant.” On their website, PP lists “abortion services” as being offered in Knoxville.

Further, it has been widely reported that PP has directed all of their local affiliates to operate abortion clinics by 2013. That explains why PP’s former office at Downtown West was no longer big enough and they recently moved to a larger space.

Their status as an abortion clinic is a critical fact, because it means that PP stands to make a lot of money by marketing themselves in our schools. This is an outrageous conflict of interest that completely escaped the notice of KNS reporters and editors.

The editorial went on to say that PP’s website “linked to material that was inappropriate for the classroom and could be seen by some parents as offensive.” That’s an astonishing understatement that could have been written only by a person unfamiliar with the PP material. It would be like saying that Pat Summitt “has won a few ball games and could be considered by some fans as an adequate coach.”

Evidence of PP’s criminal behavior all over the US, including their institutional willingness to cover up sexual abuse of minor children, was completely ignored. Nor was it mentioned that PP routinely arranges for judicial bypasses that allow minors to get abortions behind their parents’ backs. Were these deliberate omissions or just plain sloppiness? No rational person could think them unworthy of mention.

The tone of the editorial suggested that the issue at stake was whether or not teens needed to know about sex. I don’t recall anybody on our side of the issue ever suggesting teens should be ignorant on matters of sex. We do, however, oppose the approach to sex that tells 13-year-old children that they might be ready for sex if they “trust each other,” “care about each other,” and “have fun together.” We object to PP’s “anything-goes” approach to sex. And I do mean anything.

To my knowledge, no KNS editor ever spoke with any of the parents about this matter. I don’t know if they interviewed the other side or not. Maybe KNS just takes at face value whatever Dr. McIntyre tells them. Maybe an ad hoc collection of parents just can’t overcome years and years of taxpayer-funded PP propaganda. Maybe KNS is a liberal rag and I’m too naive to see it.

I don’t know, but I have to think KNS could have written a more insightful piece had they bothered to do a little independent research. Speaking with some of the pro-family leaders who raised this issue might have been helped.

KNS, I love you, man, but you really needed to dig deeper on this one.

Christine Lefebvre

Here are Chris Lefebvre’s comments before the Knox County School Board last week.

My name is Christine Lefebvre. I am a mother, grandmother and citizen of Knox County, and I am very concerned about Planned Parenthood’s influence in our schools and how that influence was gained!  From what I have learned it appears that the parents of Knox County students and you, ladies and gentlemen who were elected to represent them, were all excluded from the decision making process that has allowed one of the most controversial organizations in the country free access to our kids, with at least some of the presentations being done without parental knowledge or consent!

Don’t you find that disturbing?

Someone made that decision and I am asking you to get some answers for us.

Who made that decision and were they not aware that undercover investigations all over the country had exposed Planned Parenthood’s systematic undermining of parents rights and the violation of mandatory reporting laws for sexual predators?

Did no one in the administration take the time to review the obscene materials on their teen websites like www.takecaredownthere.org with its “I Didn’t Spew” explicit video depicting a teen boy practicing oral sex on another teen boy?  Did even the mention of that not make you cringe a little inside?  Does it not bother you that our teens, as captive audiences in their own classrooms are being exposed to an organization with that kind of ideology?

Wasn’t anyone concerned about the obvious conflict of interest in allowing an organization that sells abortion into the classrooms of our county to talk to them about sex? And beyond that, doing professional development of our wellness teachers?  And are there going to be any answers forthcoming about who those teachers are who have attended that type of program and whether they will be able to continue advancing  that ideology in their classrooms.  And what monies, if any, were used to pay for Planned Parenthood’s professional development of our teachers?

Did those decision makers not know that PP would be recruiting our teens for their “peer counseling” seminars to  receive 40 hours of in depth sexuality training in the crass ideology that is Planned Parenthood and then  PAID $100.00 a semester after they go back to their schools and make “100 peer contacts” to market that ideology… and the services PP provides?  They will tell you it’s all about teens sharing “life-saving information” with their peers, but their rights based approach to sexual health and their advocacy for removing “ethical barriers,” their history and the services they sell are all of grave concern.  The Boston Globe reported in November that “hundreds of high school students” came to the school board meeting demanding free condoms at all high schools and more comprehensive sex education.  One student was even quoted as saying that it was “sad that schools would rather focus on things like books and tests.” This is a direct result of inculcating teens with that kind of ideology.

Doesn’t it bother you that the administration’s recent decision about this issue relied on a group of experts and does not appear to have involved board members or any concerned members of the community?

There is an even bigger issue at stake here, and that is the betrayal of public trust by this administration and the exclusion of board members and the community from this critical decision.  The solution to teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases lies in more, not less, parental involvement. Something, this experience indicates is not a priority of the administration. Recently the Provincetown, Massachusetts School district approved distribution of condoms for students kindergarten through 12 stating that the district will not honor requests from parents that their children not be given condoms.  Is that where we are headed?

You, ladies and gentlemen, may not have had an opportunity to do much about letting PP into our classrooms, but I trust that once you get the answers to these questions, you will do everything you can to ensure that such a betrayal of our trust and our values will never happen here again.

Jane Bullington

More media coverage for the controversy over the abortion industry in Knox County Schools:

• WATE TV
• Letter to Knoxville News Sentinel

Here are Jane Bullington’s remarks before the school board.

My name is Jane Bullington and I am the mother of 2 children who have gone through the Knox County public school system; I am a taxpayer and a very concerned citizen.

TN state law TCA 49-6-1302 mandates teaching abstinence-based sex education and that the teaching party be “of good public standing”. I believe both of these requirements were violated in Knox County. Parents were excluded from any input into what is being taught, who is doing the teaching. Why is there so much secretiveness around this issue?  If any of us called our School Board member, or our Administration offices or our schools, to ask about the history curriculum or associated guest speakers, we would be answered immediately.  Why can’t we get any straight answers about what is being taught to our students about sex, who is teaching our students about sex, who is training those who will now be teaching our students about sex? Who is profiting from the teaching of sex education in our schools? Planned Parenthood has been presenting, and Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in America; I think we know the answer to the last question.

Trusting the written curriculum depends on the honesty of those developing the curriculum, teaching the curriculum and training the teachers—and I am here to say this organization is not trustworthy.  PP should not be trusted with the health, safety, or morals development of our children.  I am vehemently opposed to an organization with documented legal violations, with an obvious agenda, and with such a gross conflict of interest having access to our students. The curriculum is essentially a sales pitch for Planned Parenthood’s “services”.  It’s called “social marketing” and attitude molding. Michael McGee, VP of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, writes about it in an article called “Social Marketing for Sexual Health”.

Let me show you something about this organization.  This national map pinpoints the locations of the Mona Lisa Project videos, done by Live Action.  The Mona Lisa Project videos document Planned Parenthood’s willingness to repeatedly violate mandatory reporting laws for statutory rape. A series of hidden camera investigations, collected by a team led by Lila Rose in summer 2008, provide the inside story about Planned Parenthood, the abortion industry and its national abuses. Despite a consistent pattern of lawlessness and abuse, Planned Parenthood receives over $363 million from taxpayers each year. This tax-exempt “nonprofit” netted $100 million last year including revenue of over $120 million directly from performing over 305,000 abortions.  Lawlessness, money, and abortions are words that define the organization approved to conduct our students’ sexual education.

In 2011, the emphasis of Live Action investigations changed to Planned Parenthood’s involvement with sex trafficking of young girls.  Here are just a few of the recent headlines:

• 2/10/2011 – DC Planned Parenthood Staffer Counsels Sex-Trafficker How Underage Girls Can Get Abortions And Testing, — No Questions Asked
• 2/8/2011 – Bronx, NY Planned Parenthood Staffer Tells “Pimp” He Can Pose As Guardian To Get Tax Payer Funded Services For Underage Sex Workers
• 2/4/2011 – Pattern Emerges: Three More Virginia Planned Parenthood Clinics Caught On Tape Willing to Aid and Abet Sexual Exploitation of Minors

Additionally, there are lawsuits all across our country, including one in Memphis, that expose the “character and agenda” of Planned Parenthood.  Here are a few:

• An Indiana Planned Parenthood was forced to suspend a counselor shown advising what she thought was a 13-year-old girl to cross state lines for an abortion without informing her parents
• Two Planned Parenthood clinics in Phoenix, AZ were caught on tape concealing statutory rape.
• At the Idaho Planned Parenthood, a caller pretended to be a racist donor who wanted to reduce the number of black people. The Planned Parenthood employee was “excited” to take the donation.

Misappropriation of funds runs rampant in this organization.  Allow me just one example:  In NJ, Audits by the United States Inspector General (IG) uncovered Planned Parenthood has improperly taken Medicaid reimbursement for family planning services for a total of almost $3 million.

Closer to home, on April 20, a counselor at Planned Parenthood in Memphis, TN was caught on hidden camera coaching a 14-year-old girl how to lie to a judge to receive a judicial bypass for an abortion without her parents’ knowledge. She was coached to keep her alleged boyfriend’s age from the judge … 31 years old.

The list could go on, but I will stop here.  I ask you to look at this map, and see the number of problems that I have pinpointed. Why is the School Administration so determined to have PP either inside our schools or influencing those who teach inside our classrooms?  What is their agenda?  Why do they promote an organization that separates children from parents? Planned Parenthood consistently lobbies against parental rights legislation.  Why are parents being left out when it comes to teaching sex ed to their children?  Too many unanswered questions—-and that makes me very nervous.

Shirley Moore

Here are Shirley Moore’s remarks to the Knox County School Board last night:

My name is Shirley Moore and I live with my family in East Knoxville. We were among the first families to join the extended Magnet program. My children graduated from Austin East.

I witnessed the storm that ensued this Fall because a parent asked questions about a Planned Parenthood presentation at Hardin Valley. Sure enough she was ridiculed in the press in a poorly executed attempt at satire. When she called the administration, she was greeted with the sullen remark:  “Oh, you’re that parent”. But I read in the plans for school reform that you “welcome parental input and community involvement.” Pardon me if I am skeptical after witnessing this.

Do I believe it’s settled because it’s reported in the news that “no outside presenters will be allowed to teach sex ed”? Well, I tried to believe it on Saturday. But then learned on Sunday that a Bearden health teacher was honored by Planned Parenthood as Runner-up for the “2007 Family Life Educator of the Year” award. This is the same person who would not claim any affiliation with them when asked recently. If the affiliation is honorable, why the reticence and secrecy?

Secrecy and deception are second nature here just as they were for the early founders of the sex education industry. Much of Planned Parenthood’s agenda is based on the ideology-driven research of Alfred Kinsey. In fact, Planned Parenthood and Playboy Magazine supported the Kinsey Institute in the early days.  Today in 2011, the two institutes cited under “Research” at a Planned Parenthood regional website are: the Alan Guttmacher Institute and The Kinsey Institute. (http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ppsi/other-links-17762.htm)

Scientists and medical researchers have refuted his dubious research for years. But Family Life Education is steeped in Kinsey mythology. Here’s Bill Taverner, director of the Center for Family Life Education at Planned Parenthood, featured on Kinsey Confidential, on the Kinsey Institute web site. (Printed web pages) (http://kinseyconfidential.org/reading-bill-taverner/)

And how did Dr. Kinsey get his own Institute at Indiana University?  If you read his Kinsey Institute approved biography (Kinsey by James Jones, 1997), one reason was, President Wells wanted him off campus, because he was nervous about some of Kinsey’s partners. It became known to IU officials that Kinsey was collaborating with child predators. Predators sent Kinsey notes on the responses of children they were currently abusing.

One abuser was Rex King who introduced him to other deviants known as the “Rush Street boys” in Chicago.  Kinsey engaged with them in sadomasochistic events in his home attic; he had his photographer commit the profane rites to film. (Also documented in the Jones biography.)

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. If you understand something about the obsessive perversions of Kinsey and those around him, you’ll understand why parents are perfectly right to question what is being taught their children and by whom.

The sex ed industry embraced Kinsey’s flawed data to support a shared ideology: Nothing is abnormal. Nothing:  Alfred Kinsey’s long-held ambition was to wipe pedophilia off the legal books as a crime. Is it really a surprise that Planned Parenthood clinics can look the other way when victims of sexual abuse come through the door?

Any parent who questions the curriculum, where it comes from, who’s teaching and who trained them is smart. And deserves respect and answers that haven’t been forthcoming:  Who brought them into the schools, who trained the wellness teachers? And why are they being allowed to continue the rest of the year?  I never realized “unsuitable” had a sell-by date on it.  If it was unsuitable last week, it’s unsuitable now, and it’s unsuitable tomorrow.

They are persistent. If Planned Parenthood didn’t get our children the first time around, they’re coming in the back doors of our schools for a second run. It gives new meaning to the phrase:  “No Child Left Behind”.

Earlier tonight, more than two dozen citizens, including many parents of children in Knox County Schools, spoke out against the presence of Planned Parenthood (PP) at the monthly School Board meeting.  Although PP has apparently been kicked out (for now), many parents are concerned that their corrupting influence will still endanger our children through teacher training programs and PP water-carriers in the Health Department.

As nearly as we could tell, few (three, according to a comment below) parents spoke on behalf of PP, other than their own staff members.  That ought to tell you something.  Of the next few days, FAB will publish the comments from many who spoke.

Here are my remarks:

My name is Fletcher Armstrong, a concerned citizen. Thank you for hearing my concerns.

Let me first acknowledge the decision to remove Planned Parenthood from our classrooms, effective at the end of the year. I urge you to make this removal effectively immediately. Planned Parenthood is the largest chain of abortion clinics in America and they make a lot of money at it. They should have no place in our schools to market their agenda and their “services” to our children.

Please don’t believe anything I’m about to say. Examine the evidence for yourself. Start with ChildPredators.com. You will hear conversations between Planned Parenthood and National Abortion Federation abortion clinic personnel and a caller who identified herself as a 13-yr-old child, pregnant by her 22-yr-old “boyfriend.” This is statutory rape in every state. You will hear clinic workers acknowledge their own legal responsibility to report the evidence of this abuse, but still coach the caller to help them cover it up.

You could also visit LiveAction.org and watch video of Planned Parenthood personnel offering to perform abortions on under-age girls, employing a “judicial bypass” as a way of getting around state laws that require parental consent or notification.

Put it all together, and you will see evidence that Planned Parenthood is willing and able to provide your children with abortions, behind your back. If your minor child is being abused, they are even willing to cover up the evidence and allow the abuse to continue.

Listen to the tapes. Watch the videos for yourself.

Beyond their deceptive business practices, Planned Parenthood promotes an unhealthy agenda for children. Their materials and philosophies are much worse than you think.

For example, consider the Planned Parenthood website TeenWire.com. On this website, teenagers are told that if you “trust each other,” “care about each other,” and “have fun together,” among other things, “you may be ready to have sex.” What sane parent would tell her 13-yr-old daughter that if she and any of her boyfriends “have fun together” and “care about each other,” they might be ready for sex? (Source: www.plannedparenthood.org/info-for-teens/sex-masturbation/am-ready-sex-33826.htm)

Consider the Planned Parenthood website, Take Care Down There (.org).  In one skit, I Didn’t Spew, one teenage boy is engaging in oral sex. The adult figure walks over and gives his implicit approval of the activity. He complains only at the boy’s failure to use a condom. In the middle of this conversation, another boy stands up and wipes his mouth. Would you teach your teenage boy that this is normal sexual behavior? Before he goes out with his friends, do you encourage him to be this guy (standing there with his pants down) or this one (down on his knees)?

Some have tried to say that all of this is pretty tame compared to the other things that our children have seen. That’s beside the point. Yes, there are disgusting things on the Internet. The difference is that none of the porn merchants who put up those websites have been endorsed by the Knox County Schools as experts and role models. Until now, we haven’t promoted reckless sexual behavior as suitable for teenage “exploration.”

The effect of all of this, if not the purpose, is to break down all barriers and limitations on behavior. What has this gotten us? We used to worry about 2 STDs, now there are more than 25.

And rampant teen pregnancy. But not to worry. Planned Parenthood will perform your child’s abortion, and you don’t even need to know about it.

And why have they become so much more aggressive at marketing their “services” to your teens and ours? Follow the money. I’ve documented on my blog how Planned Parenthood could rake in billions of dollars by expanding their abortion business and getting taxpayers to foot the bill.  (Source: www.fletcherarmstrongblog.com/abortion-obamacare-and-planned-parenthood-follow-the-money/)

There’s a big profit to be made by marketing (first) sex and (then) abortion to our children, and Planned Parenthood is poised to get a huge share of it. It’s an outrageous conflict of interest.

Pam Strickland wrote a column in the News Sentinel entitled “Somebody needs to talk to kids about sex.” Maybe she’s right about that. Somebody should talk to them about smoking, too, but it shouldn’t be Philip Morris.

CBR airplane tow banner.

One more thing I have to tell you in all candor. I am the Southeast Director of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. At CBR, we expose what Planned Parenthood does. Where they go, we will go. We do not trespass, we obey traffic laws, and we obey FAA regulations. But we will go.

CBR trucks and signs.

Breaking news:  Planned Parenthood has been expelled from Knox County Schools.  At least for now.  News coverage:

• Knoxville News Sentinel
• WBIR-TV
• WATE-TV
• WVLT-TV

I believe this should be considered a victory, but not a final one.  The struggle against evil is a timeless one.

Earlier this week, Live Action released a stunning video of a Planned Parenthood nurse in New Jersey giving aid and assistance to a man posing as a pimp for an underage prostitution ring.  Today, LifeSite News reports that Live Action has now released a second video that shows a similar action by a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Virginia.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iMScbJJS2g

.

Learn more at this webcast at 8:30 pm, tonight, Thursday, February 3.  Speakers include Lila Rose, Dr. Alveda King, Tony Perkins (Family Research Council), Abby Johnson, and others.  The webcast may be seen at www.exposeplannedparenthood.com.  Expect even more to be revealed.

Keep abortion merchants away from Knox County students!  If you want to keep Planned Parenthood out of Knox County schools, we need your help today!  Please make the biggest donation you can.  Planned Parenthood has lots of money.  You have money, too, and now is a good time to put it to work!  Even $10 or $20 can help.  A monthly gift of $10 or $20 would be huge!

Pro-lifers lawfully demonstrating on public sidewalks and in the air.

I attended the parent’s meeting at Sacred Heart last Thursday.  A lot of good information was presented.  The best speaker was Alaynna McCormick, the Hardin Valley Academy student who sparked the controversy by telling her mother what Planned Parenthood was teaching at her school.

So far, the school officials are mum.  If they are getting the message, they aren’t letting on.  They don’t seem to understand that their one-page curriculum is almost irrelevant.  What matters is who is teaching and what they are saying.  And in the age of the internet, what websites are associated with the speaker.  It’s not just about what is said in class; inviting PP and the abortion industry into any school is an endorsement.  I don’t care what the anti-smoking curriculum says, I still wouldn’t get Phillip Morris to present it.

Despite the good work done by all who presented, there are two key points that are not coming through, as yet.  The parents are going to have to make policy makers and citizens alike more aware of two key points.

First, the PP websites contain much more debauchery than was exposed by any of the speakers on Thursday night.  It’s just like trying to explain abortion.  If you sanitize it, people don’t get it.  To effectively rid the schools of PP, they need to be exposed.  And they have published plenty of stuff that would make a sailor turn red.  We just need to buck up and read this filth into the public record, no matter how dirty it makes us feel.  Speakers need to blow up and hold up the pictures that are on PP websites and in their books.  Otherwise, we look like a bunch of prudes.  And it’s not just the description of the acts; it’s the encouragement of our teens to “experiment” and do whatever they feel like doing at the time.

Second, we need to expose the profit angle.  In a previous post, FAB documented the amount of money that PP stands to make off marketing sex to our children.  It is an outrageous conflict of interest, and it needs to be exposed.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPe0gXj-s3c

Overall, the report glosses over the PP websites and other material directed at teens.  Not addressed at all are the encouragments for teens to engage in behavior that is depraved and/or dangerous.  We have to do a better job of forcing people to understand the depravity of PP materials.  For example, see the “I didn’t spew” video on the TakeCareDownThere.org website, which is a PP website directed at teens.  Following is a synopsis.  The video itself is so vile, it would surely be rejected by YouTube, so I just performed a few screen captures.