What If? p.28 by Holly Trimble, Copyright 1994 I recently ordered the Pro-Life Shopping Guide from the St. Antoninus Institute. This guide lists corporations that make donations to Planned Parenthood and the National Organization for Women. To my dismay, I found that many of our favorite products are sold by these corporations. The stock of some of these corporations is owned by mutual funds that we have invested in for our children's education and our retirement. "Rats!" I thought. Now I have the hassle of explaining to our children why we can no longer buy their favorite cereals and will have to listen to howls of protest from the younger ones. Even more of a hassle, I have to sell my mutual fund shares and try to find investments that aren't connected with abortion in any way, which can be pretty difficult these days. So much for buying U.S. Treasury bills, U.S. zero coupon bonds, and savings bonds issued since the beginning of the Clinton administration. Also, our life insurance company was on the list of corporations making pro-abortion donations. Another hassle - changing life insurance companies. Is it really worth it? Can I rationalize not going to all this trouble? After all, it's not that much money, and probably only a few of our dollars actually find their way into the abortionists' coffers. I have come to the conclusion that it is worth the hassle to be as scrupulous as possible with how our dollars are spent and invested. After all, we are insisting that girls and women, in possibly desperate situations, bring their babies to term, because the alternative is having those babies killed. We are asking them to make significant sacrifices and, in some cases, endure tremendous difficulties, to give their children life. We, too, need to sacrifice, and endure the hassles and difficulties our pro-life commitment asks of us. I started reflecting on what kind of changes might occur and came up with a list of questions: What if every pro-life person refused to buy products sold by companies that make donations to pro-abortion organizations? What if every corporation that made such donations received 1,000 letters every week from customers protesting those donations and telling of their intention to stop purchasing their products? (This would require that only 20 people a week, from each of the 50 states, take the time to write those letters.) What if those letters arrived week after week without fail and sales dropped noticeably? What if the institutional pro-life churches, who invest billions of dollars, refused to invest in corporations that make pro-abortion donations or to purchase products made by those corporations? What if these churches went so far as to refuse to invest in mutual funds that hold stock in those corporations, and instead supported a pro-life mutual fund? What if every pro-life person and pro-life organization refused to purchase U.S. Treasury bills and other similar government bonds because of the present administration's support of tax-funded abortion? What if every pro-life person absolutely refused to vote for any politician, at any level of government, who supported legalized abortion? What if the churches that take a pro-life stand refused membership to those who publicly promote legalized abortion? What if every pro-life person refused to use health care facilities where abortions are performed? What if the churches were to enroll their employees only in health care plans that do not provide payment for abortions? What if? Please, if you have not already done so, write to the St. Antoninus Institute, at 4110 Fessenden St. NW, Washington, DC 20016. For $15, this organization will send you a list of corporations that donate to Planned Parenthood and N.O.W., along with a list of their subsidiaries and brand names. This guide also includes corporate addresses of these companies so that you can write to them and explain to them why you are boycotting their products. It's worth the hassle.