Where Does Our Money Go?
p.28
By Steve Dunham
Copyright 1994 American Life League

ARE YOU DONATING to Planned Parenthood? Not directly, perhaps, but the 
companies from which you buy products may be donating to Planned 
Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups. Some of their profits on 
each purchase you make may be going to Planned Parenthood, the National 
Organization for Women, or the so-called Children's Defense Fund.

Pro-lifers don't want to see their purchases benefitting pro-abortion 
organizations, but a look at the list of corporations that fund Planned 
Parenthood is daunting. From credit  cards to computers, from pizza to 
pet food, you will find that major, well-known corporations have been 
supporting the nation's largest abortion provider. American Express, 
Tandy, Pizza Hut and Ralston Purina are among the companies that have 
funneled some of their profits to pro-abortion organizations or 
population control groups.

A comprehensive list, however, is too long for ordinary people to 
memorize. Grocery shopping, for example, could become exceedingly 
difficult if we tried to keep in mind the multitude of products made by 
companies that are funding Planned Parenthood. 

Then there are the ubiquitous goods made in China (and sometimes the 
place of manufacture is not evident until you've opened the package). 
With China's horrendous human rights record, including forced abortion 
for women who already have a child, there is ample reason to avoid 
products from China.

How can we be good stewards and use our shopping habits to boost the 
pro-life cause? One solution, I believe, is to distinguish between 
obligation and opportunity. 

"Eat whatever is sold in the marketplace without raising any question 
of conscience," St. Paul wrote (1 Cor. 10:25) concerning food that had 
been offered to idols. This suggests that we may not be morally 
obligated to avoid buying things that are ethically tainted, although I 
think that most Christians would agree that it is a righteous thing to 
do. 

From a tactical point of view, though, we have an opportunity. We can 
attack the funding of our enemies at one of its sources. I suggest that 
our boycott tactics should be employed where they can be most 
effective. For example, the American Family Association has been 
leading a boycott of K-Mart for years, because K-Mart  owns 
Waldenbooks, which refuses to eliminate pornography from its stores. 
K-Mart (which also has supported pro-abortion activity) recently 
announced that it will close 800 stores. The American Family 
Association claims partial credit for putting K-Mart on the ropes.

Where we can hope for a noticeable impact is in our big purchases. I 
try to avoid Pepsi (and its subsidiaries Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and 
Kentucky Fried Chicken) because of the corporation's support of Planned 
Parenthood, and because there are easy alternatives to all of those 
brands. I do this out of principle, but the amount of money involved is 
small. The big-ticket items are where I think we can more readily make 
our influence felt. It's burdensome to do research before grocery 

shopping, but I think the time spent on research is worthwhile when 
we're planning to spend thousands of dollars on an item such as a 
computer. A purchase of a Tandy computer at Radio Shack would not only 
put thousands of dollars into Tandy's coffers, it would probably 
involve considerable amounts spent on Tandy computer supplies in the 
future. Careful shopping when large amounts are involved can make a 
difference, especially if we communicate our reasons to the companies. 
When writing to a corporation, it's good to keep in mind that not all 
of Planned Parenthood's supporters realize that they are supporting 
abortion.

"To part with his money, a man must either (1) think the gift will in 
the end provide him even more, or (2) believe the cause to which he 
gives is worth the sacrifice," wrote Diane Dew in "Why the Concern Over 
Corporate Gifts?" (The Standard, Dec. 13, 1992). "Yes, donations tell 
us much about the giver," she continued. "They provide a true view into 
the heart. People can lie about their intentions and fib about their 
biases. But look at their checkbook, and you can see just who they are 
and what they love . . ."

If the directors of a corporation are sincerely (if misguidedly) trying 
to benefit the poor, they may be willing to stop funding Planned 
Parenthood when they learn more about that organization's activities. 
If they are intentionally supporting an abortion provider and abortion 
advocate, however, maybe no amount of pressure will persuade them to 
give in, but it is still important to let them know why we are not 
doing business with them.

Conversely, we often have an opportunity to do business with companies 
that contribute to worthy causes. Domino's Pizza, for example, has a 
history of donating to Christian causes and pro-life projects. When 
patronizing such businesses, we can let them know that one reason we 
are doing business with them is because of their financial support of 
worthwhile organizations.

Some Companies That Have Funded Abortion and Population Control
taken from Diane Dew's booklet "Corporate Support of Abortion and 
Population Control"

Her introduction states: "Information for this report was taken 
directly from public records, annual reports and grant lists for the 
past five years [ending in 1993]. Corporations included in this listing 
have made contributions either (1) to Planned Parenthood or other 
pro-abortion groups; or (2) to other groups, such as the ACLU, 
specifically earmarking the funds 'for defending abortion/reproductive 
rights,' 'for judicial and media education in support of bringing 
RU-486 to the U.S.,' 'for curriculum defending reproductive rights,' 
for school-based clinics, for abortion in Third World countries, etc."

American Express
Avon
AT&T
Best
Bristol-Meyers
Burger King
Diner's Club
Esprit
Chase Manhattan
General Mills
Harley-Davidson

Honeywell
Johnson & Johnson
K-Mart
Kentucky Fried Chicken
Levi-Strauss
Metropolitan Life
Nabisco
Philip Morris
Pillsbury
Pizza Hut
Post
Prudential
Quaker Oats
Ralston Purina
Reader's Digest
Red Lobster
Revlon
Taco Bell
Tandy
Warner-Lambert

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