Pregnant? Need help? Call 1-800-PROPAGANDA
The Democrats for Life of America (DFLA) is waiting in the wings with its 95-10 Initiative, a piece of omnibus legislation that, beneath a veneer of concern for women, provides federal funding for a nationwide campaign to herd women into CPCs -- in addition to imposing the so-called Woman's Right to Know laws that are shutting down access to abortion care from Minnesota to Mississippi upon every abortion-providing physician in the 50 states.
Federal Funding for Toll-Free Number/National Public Awareness Program It has been my own observation that "women needing such services" are the ones who are induced by a CPC's offer of "abortion aid, assistance and advice" to walk in asking for help with an abortion -- and that the addition of licensed professionals would be a marked improvement . . . but that is another story. DFLA Executive Director Kristen Day makes clear that their goal is to eliminate all elective abortions in the country within 10 years after the passage of 95-10, and that government promotion and funding of CPCs is the most powerful weapon in their arsenal.
CareNet, a nationwide network of crisis pregnancy centers, has also endorsed the 95-10 initiative, with President Kurt Entsminger applauding the proposal's focus on pregnancy resource centers. Legislation arising from the initiative would require abortion centers to inform women of the adverse effects of abortion, and pregnancy counseling centers to provide adoption referral information. The pilot program for state by state imposition of the 95-10 Initiative is about to be up and running in Florida - where, in 2004, the then-president of the state's chapter of DFLA, Valerie Mierzwa, called John Kerry the "Hitler of the Unborn." The Florida initiative will be propelled by a savvy operation that makes our CPC initiative here in Texas look like a home-grown outfit. The winner of Florida's $3 million contract is Care Net, a CPC powerhouse with over 800 affiliates in North America. Florida State Grant Program to Reduce Abortion
STERLING, Va., Feb. 3 Christian Wire Service -- Care Net announced Thursday an unprecedented development regarding the use of marketing and a unique 24-hour call center to help women facing unplanned pregnancies find alternatives to abortion. The State of Florida has allocated $2 million to fund a new program to promote alternatives to abortion and support the work of pregnancy centers throughout Florida. This new program will be administered by the Florida Pregnancy Care Network (FPCN). The Option Line call center, jointly owned and operated by Care Net and Heartbeat International, has been retained by the FPCN to serve as the official call center for this new state program. The Option Line (800-395-HELP) currently receives more than 10,000 calls, e-mails, and instant messages per month from women across North America who are facing an unplanned pregnancy. Now, it will be expanded to serve an even greater number of women in Florida and connect them with the help of a local pregnancy center. In Kurt Entsminger, Jeb Bush's Florida has definitely picked a man who can spread a message.
An example of the way that paid search marketing can effectively stretch a ministry's advertising dollars is the work being done via Google AdWords and Yahoo! Search Marketing by Care Net, which runs a national crisis pregnancy hotline. Kurt Entsminger, the president of Care Net, shares that since the mid-90's Care Net had relied primarily upon billboards, television and Yellow Pages as the primary means of promoting its hotline. The cost per call from their marketing efforts ranged from $15 to $80. Care Net considered any campaign with a cost per call of less than $25 to be successful. Since the company adopted paid search marketing last year, they have seen their ppc-related cost per call drop to just $5. No, never let it be said that Kurt Entsminger doesn't understand marketing. Last year Care Net announced a partnership with Interstate Batteries that has seen Care Net profit from expanding its national exposure through NASCAR-related sponsorship - and instead of paying for that endorsement in the customary manner, Care Net is receiving a large share of its co-sponsor's profits.
Only last year, Entsminger expressed doubt about the ability of Care Net to take government money in Florida without compromising its "evangelistic goals."
Mr. Entsminger told WORLD that in the past Real Alternatives "has excluded evangelical centers all together." Mr. Bagatta said that's because until last summer federal guidelines prohibited the group from distributing funds to "centers that proselytize." Under new guidelines from the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, Mr. Bagatta said Real Alternatives would be able to include evangelistic care centers, as long as counselors separate pregnancy counseling from evangelism sessions. Yes, apparently that pesky legal division between church and state is longer a problem. And considering how heavy the Care Net catalogue is on Biblical materials and antiabortion propaganda, what a blessing that is for Care Net's volunteer "consultants," who can continue to "be the hands and feet of Jesus." Several years ago, a CPC in Calgary operating under the Care Net umbrella was investigated for its dishonest practices, which included fear and guilt-inducing misinformation about abortion. A young woman featured in the Canadian W-5 program's televised exposé, fooled by deceptive advertising, went to the center seeking information and advice about how to obtain an abortion. She was told that having an abortion would put her at risk of future infertility, eating disorders, and self-mutilation, in addition to leaving her guilt-ridden for life and ruining her relationship with God. Despite Care Net's slick and shiny PR campaigns, their fundamental message hasn't changed: abortion is dangerous, God hates it, and if you have an abortion, you WILL be sorry. A number of Care Net-affiliated centers offer an online Post-Abortion Stress Test featuring over 40 indicative "symptoms" in three categories, ranging in severity from "disappointment" and "weight gain" all the way to frankly alarming signs of possible mental instability such as "fear of having a deformed child, fear of God's punishment, feeling the presence of the aborted child." Put a checkmark next to even one of these - even the mildest and most ambiguous -- click the button labeled "Take the test," and a pop-up window informs you that "You ... may have a mild form of post-abortion stress. Call us today at 1-800-595-5753 if you would like to speak in person with someone about post-abortion syndrome." Yeah, girl, come on down.
Pregnant? Need help? Call 1-800-PROPAGANDA | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 hidden)
Pregnant? Need help? Call 1-800-PROPAGANDA | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 hidden)
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