The United Way & The March.

ofDimes: A Warning
From his book, Grand Illusions: The Legacy of Planned Parenthood
by George Grant
The United Way ned Parenthood as a direct recipient of
Founded in 1918, United Way of funds, continue . to support . hot lines,
Apterica is the world's largest coopera- family counseling centers, health set-
rive coalition of charity organizations vice agencies, and community associa-
in the world. I Its multi-million dollar tions that counsel for abortion and refer
annual effort not only distributes much clients to the organization's abortu-
needed cash to local private sector ser- aries.8
vice providers, but it provides program Nationally, United Way, over the
support and consultation in. the areas of years, has strongly defended its commit-
"fundraising, budgeting, management, ment to Planned and has
- ---fund--distribution;- planning,--and-com .. - ---: eensistently upped -its share-of the an-
rnunications."2 It conducts major na- . nual fund-raising bounty.9 It has evert
ned Parenthood," he remembered, "all I
had to do was to ask for a negative
designation. They really wanted me to
stay with the program. The trouble
with negative designations, though, is
that Planned Parenthood gets a set per-
centage of the United Way total. That is
So, no matter how I desig-
nate or don't designate, the very fact
that I've made a United Way contribu-
tion-raises the total that Planned Parent- .
hood gets. Negative designations are,
thus, a sham. My protest would be ir- tiona! media campaigns, produces fllms gone so far as to entangle itself in Plan-
and audio-visual presentations, adminis- ned Parenthood's political spats, 10 even
ters staff and volunteer development to the point of risking its OWn tax-
training, and publishes dozens of book- exempt status.ll
lets, and every an executive
year.J It asststs local service groups by an mtetnatiOnal oil tool manufacturmg
conductingcompany-wideandcommuni- company based in Oklahoma City. Al-
ty-wide campaigns and cultivating in- ways active in civic affairs and commun-
creased corporate giving through donor ity development. he has long been an
development programs.4 United Way enthusiastic sponsor for United Way's
funds help organizations, like the Salva- corporate program. "I would personally
tion Army, Goodwill, the Red Cross, go to each of our employees," he said,
and Big Brothers, do what they do best: "and encourage them to give. I would
care for the needy.S Millions of dollars help executives in other cmnpanies set
every year are used to strengthen the up incentive programs. I even did some
work of drug rehabilitation, medical re- volunteer work at the regional United
search, emergency food relief, sheltering Way office."
the homeless, crisis counseling refer- Jim's enthusiasm was dampened sig-
rals, legal services to the poor, and job nificantly when he discovered that the
re-training for the unemployed. 6 funds he had worked so hard to raise
But they also go to Planned Parent- were being used for Plan11ed Parent-
hood-- millions of dollars worth every hdod's abortion and birth control cru-
year.7 Even those few local United Way sade. "I went to several of the directors
groups that have yielded to pro-life pres- and board members to see if there was
sure over the years, and removed any possibility of dropping that sup
port," he said. "But they all
A leader in the pro-life movement
for more than a decade, George Grant
is the author of five includ- .
ing THE DISPOSSESSED: Home-
lessness in America IN THE SHA-
DOW OF PLENTY: Biblical Prin-
cjpjes of Welfare and Poverty, THE
CHANG1NG OF THE GUARD: Bibli-
cal PrinciJlles for Political Action,
and BRINGING IN THE SHEAVES: .
T.r'!nsfonning Poverty rnto Produc-
tiVIty.
He lives with his family in the
piney woods of east Texas.
thoroughly comnlitted to mirlritaining
the status quo. The thing is, they were
very defensive. It was like this subject
had already been driven into the groimd
and they weren't even willing to discuss
it anymore."
Of course, they didn't want to lose
Jim altogether, so they proposed an
alternative. "They told me that if I
didn't want my donation to go to Plan-
Page30---------------------------------------------------
relevant."
Frustrated, Jim pulled his company
out of the program. "The whole reason
I worked so hard for years to raise
money was to help people. To learn
that my efforts were actually having the
opposite effect was terribly sobering.
Now, every time I see one of those
United Way ads during football games,
I have to wonder how many other folks
there are in the same boat -- wanting to
help, but doing it in a completely mis-
begotten fashion. It is tragic."
The March of Dimes
Founded in 1938 by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, the March of
Dimes is one of the world's premier pri-
vate sector health and medical associa-
tions.12 Dedicated to the prevention of
birth defects, it raises nearly millions of
dollars each year for education, research,
and service. It works to imf:rove mater-
nal and newborn health. 3 It makes
basic clinical grants to hospitals and
universities for perinatal and genetic
study programs.14 It sponsors medical
conferences, coordinates syrnJ)osia, and
publishes literature. IS Since it success-
fully led the fight to cure polio dUring
the early fifties, the March of Dimes
has become a symbol of hope for mil-
lions of parents all around the globe.l6
But it has also placed itself at the
forefront of the Planned Parenthood
The Counsel of Chalccdon, December, 1988
movement17
Since the early sixties, it has increas-
ingly turned its attentions away from
curing genetic disorders and birth defects
to detecting and eliminating them.18
And, as a result, amniocentesis and abor-
tion have become its chief concerns,
consuming a vast majority of its fund-
ing.19 Instead if trying to solve the
problem of birth defects, the March of
Dimes now disposes of those problems
by funding "search and destroy" mis-
sions.
Eighty-eight percent of all March of
Dimes geneticists favor abortion-on-de-
mand.20 Seventy-one percent argue that
if amniocentesis diagnostic tests prove
a child to be defective, he should be ter-
minated regardless of the stage of preg-
nancy.21 A large number even revealed
that they were involved in live fetal ex-
perimentation and fetal harvesting.22
This despite the persistent claims of the
organization that it is "abortion neu-
tral."23
The connection between the March of
Dimes and Planned Parenthood is not
just philosophical. Many faithful
donors would be shocked to discover
that the money they have given over
the years to "help fight birth defects"
has actually wound up in Planned
Parenthood coffers.
In 1980, for instance, the March of
Dimes gave more than one-half million
dollars to a Planned Parenthood abor-
tionist for a major research project 24
The results of the study, published in
Obstetrics and Gynecology, has been
widely heralded in pro-abortion circles
and selectively circulated by Planned
Parenthood affiliates all around the coun-
try.25
In response to pro-life criticism of its
close relationship with Planned Parent-
hood, the national office of the March
of Dimes called its critics "ideological
zealots eager to invent new enemies."26
Today, the kinship between the two
groups is friendlier than ever. They
display and distribute each other's litera-
ture.27 They refer clients back and forth
to each other's programs.28 They co-
operate in sponsoring genetic research
and perinatal medical conferences.29
And they support each other in their
political lobbying efforts.30
Joseph Resnick, for years, was a dedi-
cated March of Dimes fund-raiser. And
for good reason. "I felt that I owed a
deep, personal debt to the March of
Dimes," he told me. "See, in 1954,
when I was fourteen-years-old, an epi-
demic of polio myelitis was sweeping
across America. My mother and my
younger sister both were stricken. For
weeks, both of them lingered near
death. Then they were both confined to
an iron lung for months on end. Today,
though, thanks to the March of Dimes,
they are both healthy, productive citi-
zens. My mother uses a cane to walk,
but my sister shows no effects of the
disease at all."
Joseph's mother and sister were both
a part of a March of Dimes therapy pro-
gram for almost a year and a half.
"Without the March of Dimes, neither
of them would have had a chance of re-
covery," he said.
Not surprisingly, Joseph tried to
show his gratitude to the organization
by working hard every year in its fund-
raising drive. "My wife and I ran our
local campaign six out of seven years
in the seventies," he said. "But then,
around 1978 or 1979, I began to detect
a major shift in the organization's in-
terest and concern. Then, in 1981, my
Grand Illusions:
The Legacy of Planned Parenthood
by George Grant
This brilliant expose of one of the most
insidious decepfions in history, namely
Planned Parenthood's butchering of
millions of unborn babies while main-
taining an image of doinJtgood, is
available, free, for your $2.).00 su bscrip-
tion, renewal or any $25.00 donation, !o
The Counsel of Chalcedon
pastor showed me a number of surveys
and studies that implicated the March of
Dimes in major abortion and amnio-
centesis research, in cooperation with
groups like Planned Parenthood. Well, I
was outraged. Not at the March of
Dimes. But at my pastor! I was angry
that he would even entertain the
thought that the organization I'd worked
so hard to support was compromised
morally."
Joseph immediately set out to vindi-
cate the organization and prove his
pastor wrong. "The next couple of
weeks were very painful for me. I made
a number of calls. I wrote letters. I read
articles. I made inquiries. And, in the
end, I was forced to admit that my pas-
tor was right I was devastated. Here
was an organization conunitted to life,
promoting death. It broke my heart. I
felt ashamed, embarrassed, and humili-
ated."
For some time, Joseph tried to work
within the organization to change the
Planned Parenthood orientation. But all
to no avail. "I f'mally had to come to
the conclusion that the March of Dimes
was just not going to change. That it
was unchangeable and unredeemable."
Fortunately, Joseph's commitment to
fighting birth defects did not end with
his break with the March of Dimes.
Today, he is actively involved with The
Michael Fund, an internationally re-
spected pro-life genetic research founda-
tion.32 "Now, I'm actually helping kids
live and live better."
Endnotes
1. Karen E. Koek and Susan Boyles
Martin, ed., Encyclopedia of Associa-
tions, 22nd ed. (New York: Gale Pub-
lishers, 1988), p. 1015.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. "Help for Hard Times: United Way
Services" brochure (Houston: United
Way of the Texas Gulf Coast, 1982.
6. Ibid.
7. Dugan, p. 2. This figure is an
estimated total of both national and
local giving patterns.
(Continued on page 36)
- The Counsel of Cbalccdon, December, 1988
--------------------------------------------------Pagc31
United Way .
. . .
Continued from _31 ..
Fighting United Way," .
ALL. About Issues, December 1981,
pp. 24-25; and see Marshall,. pp,
. 9. Dugan, p.
lO"United Way and PP: Bedfellows
of Destruction,'' ALL. About Issues.
July 1982, pp. 44-45.
11. Ibid., p. 44.
12. Koek

p.ll17 . .
.13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
.16. "March of Dimes'' information
American Life Lobby; 1985,
pp. 10-14. . .
11. Ibid, p: .u. .
:-t& ''March -of 'Dimes:-
No Excuses," ALL. About :Issues,
July 1985, pp. 32-33.
. 19. Ibid, 63.
20. "March of Dimes and . the
Unborn: what You Need .to Know
Before You Give" . brochure, Minnea
polis Human Life Alliance, 1977, p. l.
. '21. Ibid.,- p. 2. . .
22. "The March of Dimes .ancl Abor- .
tion," ALL . . About lssW!s,
19S2, pp. 34 ..
Z3."March of Dimes"i nformation
paeket, .American Life Lobby, 1985, p.
10. . . . ' ' .
24. MOD News, June.23, .1980.
2S . . P. G. SqJbblefield, et al.,
ty Induced Abortion:.. A Prospec-:-
tive Follow-Up Study," and
62:2, (February pp . .
. .
26. "March of Dimes" information
packet, American Life Lobby, 1985, p.
12. .
27. -Linda Wallace, "The. MIU'ch of
Dimes-Planned Partmthood
Nurses for Life News, Fall .
1983, p. 3.
28. Ibid., p. 4. 29; lbicf:., p. 3 . ..
30. Ibid., p. 4.
31. For more information about The .
Michael fuM, write to International ,,
Foundation for Genetic Research, 400 .
1, '.
t ' ' ..
' .
. . .. , .. ;
. ANOB/GYN .
. ; . . . . . .
SPEAKS OUT ABOur

-ABORTION;
INJURIES
l was the medical director of
.-the -first abortion -clinie in--my
state. However; I have since re'"
signed,. and I no longer do abor-
tions. I saw hand that abor-
tion abuses women. Women are
being damaged physically and
emotionally.-- and I wlll not be
. silent!
Doctors who do abortions
. should be held accountable for
the damage they are doing to the
minds and bodies of women.
Ma).practice in abortion is wide-
spread!
"When . you are . injured in
an abortion, you are expec-
ted to suffer-and simply
be silent."
I know of no one who is work'"
ing to correct this injustice like
the American Rights Coalition.
They are a national abortion com-
Dr. Beverly McMillan. MD, OB!GYN
plaint clearinghouse with -a
work .. set 'UP . to . help .. you.. . . .
problems, concerns, artd fears are
serious to them. The American
Rights Coalition can direct you to
medical, legal, and emotional
help.
lf you think. that some of yout
problems are due to your abor
contact let themhelp
you . . They can tell you what to do .
next
. '
As a doctor, but more
portantly as a woman, my. heart
goes outto you. I know the paiJI,
the loneliness and hopelessness
you must feel My prayers are for
you.
/)llit1h
0

Dr. McMillan is a physician in private
practice ..
AMERICAN RIGHTS COALITION
. .
Penn Center Boulevard; Room 1022; . , .
3661 Brainerd Rottd Suite 205 Cllizttaoooga, TN 374il
l:.S00-6342224 Monday- Friday, 9AM -:SPM,
EIJSUrn Sfaluitud Time
Pittsburgh, PA 15235. . . . .. ..
by permission; from. Grand . ..... . __ _,......, _ _,_......, _________________ __
Illustons: The Leg_a.cy of Planned Parenthood, .
aM Hyatt, Pub-: ;,
lishersi lnc.J. Eirentwood, lW, ....._ ______________ .....____..........;........; ______ .........,_.....;. ______ .....:...__.........;_ ' .,
pages 54-bB-] U
."

The Counsel of Chalccdon, December, 1988