I know I'm on sabbatical. I still am. But this deceit could not go uncorrected.

Got this in my emailbox today. I urge our readers to write their Congressmen/"womyn" to condemn this bill as one more of the big lies foisted by Planned Parenthood for years, one that we debunked one full year ago.

Hi Annie,

So-called "crisis pregnancy centers" are rapidly appearing across the nation--a deceitful new tactic of the anti-choice movement to keep women from getting the accurate education and health services they seek.

Actually there are 3,400, they're real, not "so-called" and have been around a long time.

And when Planned Parenthood "keeps women from getting the health services they seek," it's called "[The patient] was informed of the risks and has a plan to deal with it." On her own. Without Planned Parenthood's help.

Then the email urges me:

Take action. These fake "clinics" often masquerade as health centers offering the full range of reproductive health services...

...and when Planned Parenthood "masquerades as health centers" refusing "the full range of reproductive health services," their defense is "[Our] job is to provide basic health care. [We] offer women choices of their path of treatment, give them scientific advice and literature on whatever decision the woman is about to make, and provide the service that the woman requests if she meets the criteria."

"If she meets the criteria." Well, well. Wonder what that is?

...when their only real purpose is to keep women from exercising their right to choice and family planning.

These folks claim women are smart enough to make their own choices, then reverse this and claim women are too dumb and are being "kept from making their own choices." I guess we're only smart as long as the choice is abortion.

They lure [lure??] unsuspecting women with the offer of free pregnancy testing or HIV tests. Once inside, the "clinic" staff--usually volunteers with no training -- try to dissuade women from exercising their right to choose by subjecting them to inaccurate, anti-choice propaganda and intimidation. Say No!

Fake "crisis pregnancy centers" are rapidly appearing across the nation - their real purpose is to keep women from exercising their right to choice and family planning. Say No! Urge your representative to support the "Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act" (H.R.5052)

They think women are so smart they have to say things twice in the same short email.

Women of low-income who seek these services are not receiving the proper medical treatment and information that they have a right to.

No, women of low income are the very ones targeted for abortion by Planned Parenthood's founder and mentor, Margaret Sanger.

The worst part? Your tax dollars are funding "crisis pregnancy centers" to the tune of $60 million.

Planned Parenthood's own Annual Report data showed that in '04 alone, "your tax dollars are funding" Planned Parenthood to the tune of $265.2 million." Four and a half times as much.

Please.

A new bill in Congress, the "Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act" (H.R.5052), would stop "crisis pregnancy centers" from deceiving women. Urge your representative to support this important bill!

Thank you for making a difference today.

I have yet to be shown bona fide proof of any woman being duped by a CPC into thinking she's there to schedule an abortion. Sure, we've heard of one or two "anecdotal stories" of misled, misguided people doing this, but even hardline prochoice folks--if they're intellectually honest at all--must consider the source. If we who are prolife must produce objective sources, then so should prochoice folks. We're still waiting for unsensationalized, objective, hard evidence on this so-called "fraudulent advertising of abortion services." If it happened, it shouldn't have. If it still is, it should be stopped.

But this broad paintbrush scare tactic is so typical--and so transparent--of the hardline pro-abortion element, it makes me barf.

This is an insult to the extraordinarily vast majority of CPC folks helping women and families year after year after year. If any of the following cosponsors of this bill are your Representatives, please consider writing them and telling them this slander--for that's just what it is--must stop and this bill must not be made law:

Rep. Carolyn Maloney [D-NY]
Rep. Gary Ackerman [D-NY]
Rep. Tammy Baldwin [D-WI]
Rep. Shelley Berkley [D-NV]
Rep. Howard Berman [D-CA]
Rep. Lois Capps [D-CA]
Rep. John Conyers [D-MI]
Rep. Joseph Crowley [D-NY]
Rep. Lloyd Doggett [D-TX]
Rep. Rahm Emanuel [D-IL]
Rep. Bob Filner [D-CA]
Rep. Raul Grijalva [D-AZ]
Rep. Maurice Hinchey [D-NY]
Rep. Steve Israel [D-NY]
Rep. Dennis Kucinich [D-OH]
Rep. Barbara Lee [D-CA]
Rep. John Lewis [D-GA]
Rep. Betty McCollum [D-MN]
Rep. James McDermott [D-WA]
Rep. James McGovern [D-MA]
Rep. Frank Pallone [D-NJ]
Rep. Steven Rothman [D-NJ]
Rep. Linda Sanchez [D-CA]
Rep. Bernard Sanders [I-VT]
Rep. Janice Schakowsky [D-IL]
Rep. Hilda Solis [D-CA]
Rep. Fortney Stark [D-CA]
Rep. Christopher Van Hollen [D-MD]
Rep. Henry Waxman [D-CA]
Rep. Robert Wexler [D-FL]
Rep. Lynn Woolsey [D-CA]

Send them these two   articles which fully out this lie, complete with Planned Parenthood's sensationalistic yellow journalism of Photoshopping bright yellow danger signs in front of photos of CPCs.

They think women are so smart, yet they have to resort to using cartoonish "art" to get their message across. Oh, wait, I forgot, that's only to attract the preteen and teenage girls.