We’ve all heard it before: someone tries to inform young women about their options regarding an unwanted pregnancy, and they’re blamed for “promoting abortion” to young girls. But this time the attacks are coming from two Texan teenagers—against Girl Scouts.
Tess and Sydney Volansk have launched a new anti-abortion rights website, Speak Now: girl scouts. The sisters were involved in Girl Scouts for eight years, but left after they “discovered that [the organization has] a pro-abortion mindset.” Citing the “controversial content” in GSUSA printed materials, such as references to Planned Parenthood and Women’s Media Center, and links to websites providing information and resources regarding teen pregnancy found on the GSUSA website, the Volansks claim the Girl Scouts of the USA is “promoting abortions.”
A section of the website titled “Girl Scout Heroines” describes the feminist women featured in Girl Scouts’ publications, such as Betty Friedan, Pauli Murray, and Simone de Beauvoir. They claim that the Girl Scouts’ Journeys books promote only these “pro-abortion champions” and “advocates of the same-sex lifestyle” and do not maintain the neutrality the GSUSA claims.
They also cite Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood Clinic Director turned pro-life advocate, who complains that Girl Scouts support Planned Parenthood and that they subscribe to Planned Parenthood’s health education curriculum. (Girls learning about their bodies, oh no!) She even posted a Facebook status saying, “Support Girl Scouts= Support Abortion.”
Young girls standing up for what they believe in is admirable, and these two are certainly young—they will just be entering their freshman and sophomore years of high school in the fall. On the site, the girls describe their reasoning behind their decision to leave Girl Scouts and actively campaign against the organization: “While we recognized the many good things about Girl Scouts, we had to ask ourselves: Will we stand for our beliefs, for the dignity of life, the sanctity of marriage, modesty, purity? Or will we remain true to Girl Scouts? We cannot see any way to truly do both.”
But the GSUSA argues that they can. Spokesperson Michelle Tompkins stated Girl Scouts’ neutrality on abortions and birth controls, emphasizing that they “support girls who do projects on both sides of these issues.”
[Source: The American Independent]
