Sav-a-life

[Effie]

Someone called out the child abuser Kelly Crawford on her blog (and I thought "Finally!")

Laura says:

April 11, 2013 at 11:57 am

“If anything, parents should be THANKING the people that see the danger besetting their children, not kicking them in the shins.â€

Ok. Kelly, your kids are not living in reality. Their homeschool bubble is going to bust one day and it will not be pretty. By not exposing them to a variety of people and ideas you have done them a huge disservice. They will not be able to cope when a transvestite hooker asks them for directions. When their child’s playmate has 2 dads they will hide under the kitchen sink. When the real world hits them like a ton of bricks they will run away screaming.

I have seen myself homeschool children fall flat on their face. And, literally, run away crying when real world goes down.

Really, you should be thanking me. I care about your children. I’m sure you will be thanking me now. Keep spewing your hate, but don’t forget to say grace… ;)

Kelly, as delusional as she is, answered that her daughter is ministering to promiscuous drug addicts at the Sav-a-life ministry. Ugh, I find it alarming that Kelly (and her daughter?) would dismiss pregnant teens as "promiscuous" and "drug addicts". So people are their problems now? That's condescending and very unprofessional. Anybody who thinks that way has no business "ministering" to anyone. I feel absolutely disgusted. I decided to learn more what Sav-a-life is about, for example who goes there (willingly?) and learned that far from everyone goes there willingly.

I found the following (from the book Girls on the Stand: How Courts Fail Pregnant Minors"):

From page 101

From page 104

Is it legal to require minors to undergo religious counseling? Wow, that's awful.

Anyway, I went to Savalife.org and felt annoyed at how judgmental they come across (even though they claim they are nonjudgmental and kind eh...). Some examples that I found puke-worthy were:

"This ministry is a response to the broad scope of problems associated with sexual promiscuity..."

Sorry, but there's no such thing as "sexual promiscuity". It's called slut-shaming.

"Free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, abortion information, parenting classes, and material assistances are just some of the many services offered to empower these men an women to choose life. "

Wow, what kind of abortion information would that be? Abortion misinformation perhaps?

Trained staff and volunteers educate both women and men about the alternatives to abortion, risks and long-term effects of abortion, emergency contraceptives, and sexually transmitted infections.

Okay, this is not one-sided at all. What about hmm let's see... the risks and long-term effects of pregnancy? Oh, wait it's all just sunshine and roses? Yes, of course it is!

I haven't seen any of you discuss this "ministry" before, so I thought it could be worth examining it. What do you know about it?

[Effie]

Btw. Of course they offer "abstinence and choices programs educating students about the consequences of pre-marital sex" (savalifebessemer.org/about.html). :roll: You know, abstinence is the only thing that could help with all this sexual promiscuity going on! :cray-cray:

[blisterine]

I can see the abortion information now.

"your baby is at 4 weeks gestation and perfectly formed. it is smiling and waving at you, saying "please mommy, don't kill me! i love you! i am a blessing!" it can easily live outside the womb if delivered now, it will just have to sleep in a teaspoon. you can easily use band-aids for diapers! you can buy polly pocket playsets for it."

[Carla Bruni]

It's illegal to force anyone, minors or not, to undergo any kind of religious counseling 'cause of that whole pesky First Amendment thing. If this is mandated by a public official, there should be a giant lawsuit in the works. Unbelievable.

[merrily]

I don't suppose to hope they use REALISTIC models? Or is it cutest zygote/fetus oops! baby when the pee stick turns a +?

edit because I can spell fetus

[Effie]

I can see the abortion information now.

"your baby is at 4 weeks gestation and perfectly formed. it is smiling and waving at you, saying "please mommy, don't kill me! i love you! i am a blessing!" it can easily live outside the womb if delivered now, it will just have to sleep in a teaspoon. you can easily use band-aids for diapers! you can buy polly pocket playsets for it."

Haha, totally. It can feel pain, and it has fingernails. (Juno : Fingernails?!)

[nelliebelle1197]

Sav-a-Life sounds like a discount big box store, not someplace I would trust to be a legitimate social services provider

[lilith]

It's illegal to force anyone, minors or not, to undergo any kind of religious counseling 'cause of that whole pesky First Amendment thing. If this is mandated by a public official, there should be a giant lawsuit in the works. Unbelievable.

Unfortunately intimidated pregnant teens begging an authority figure for permission to undergo a medical procedure that they desperately require arent usually in a position to initiate legal action, especially after being shamed by this organisation.

[Carla Bruni]

Unfortunately intimidated pregnant teens begging an authority figure for permission to undergo a medical procedure that they desperately require arent usually in a position to initiate legal action, especially after being shamed by this organisation.

Unfortunately, yes. However, is there another way to raise this issue? Can the ACLU get involved?

[alba]

I'm confused, are these pregnant teens who need their parental consent waived to have an abortion? Because if so this is a shocking attempt to take advantage of young girls when they are at their most vulnerable.

Parental consent laws really are all about slut-shaming rather than protecting minors. If the counselling were really in the girls' best interests it would be designed to ensure they've made the choice and haven't been pressured into it by their boyfriends rather than designed to change their minds when they've freely made a choice. The bigger problem with counselling, however, is that it can delay an abortion until it's past the cut-off date, and the woman has no choice but to continue.

[ThatSnark]

*sigh* I earned my undergraduate degree in Social Work from Auburn University. One of the women with whom I graduated, a developing fundie at the time, did her internship and was hired by Sav-A-Life, where she has worked for the past 20 years now. Our professor had an ethical problem at the time with her calling that social work, when she was not promoting the full spectrum of choices nor providing accurate information to the "unfortunate girls" who came to the agency. My co-student got away with this by only doing intakes during the internship; she went on to become the director for the local chapter there.

You're correct that the tactic is to keep the young woman in "counseling," or more accurately, doubt and fear, until the window for safe abortion via D&C has passed. She's promised all kinds of support, directed toward church support systems, partnered up with an experienced mother to start blowing the sunshine of motherhood into her confused mind.... you get the picture. She can give up the baby for adoption; Sav-A-Life acts as a clearinghouse for inexpensive private Christian adoptions. My friend has two children adopted in this way. Otherwise, she'll probably join the long list of Alabama teenage mothers on welfare, with all the initial paperwork completed in the Sav-A-Life offices. Sure, the baby is born, but not into a great situation-- and the mother has been bullied into choosing a difficult life based on seeing through the consequences of her sin.

It's sad.

[GolightlyGrrl]

Sav-a-Life sounds like a discount big box store, not someplace I would trust to be a legitimate social services provider

Yep, get your misguided information about abortion and birth control while you fill your cart with 24-packs of toilet paper, Doritos and new underwear.

And for the fuck of shit, what kind of qualifications does Bria have to counsel anyone other than being a Judgey McJudgerson just like her trifling mother?

[bananacat]

Silly me, I thought an organization called Sav-a-life might involve, you know, saving lives. At the very least I expected some kind of blood/organ donor program with a coercive Christian proselytizing element, or a cancer charity with same.