Top Companies Stop Backing Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Dec 10, 2010   |   11:45AM   |   Washington, DC

A pro-life organization that monitors corporate donations to the Planned Parenthood abortion business says several top companies have stopped providing it with financial support.

Officials with Life Decisions International say that, over the last few months, more corporations have been dropped from its boycott list in a six-month time period than ever before.

“Generally speaking, between the publications of boycott lists, two or three corporations agree to stop funding Planned Parenthood,” LDI president Douglas Scott explained. “The current list was released in July 2010. So, one would expect that two or three corporations on the July 2010 boycott list will not appear on the December 2010 edition.”

“We cannot say for sure exactly why this is happening, but more corporations have been removed from the boycott list between the July 2010 and December 2010 lists than have ever been dropped in the past,” he added.

The companies no longer financially supporting the abortion business, which does more than 25 percent of the abortions in the United States annually, include Enterprise car rentals, Forbes magazine, Ing financial services and one of the more ironic entries, Toys “R” Us.

Other companies dropped from the pro-life boycott list include Cisco Systems, Red Lion Hotels, Franchise Services, Rolex watch company, Kenneth Cole and Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare.

“This means that ten corporations have been dropped from the current list,” Scott continued. “It also means that, so far, a total of at least 270 corporations have agreed to stop giving money to the abortion-committing giant! Simply remarkable.”

Scott credited pro-life advocates with consistently contacting corporate headquarters and officers letting them know of their refusal to patronize their businesses until they end their financial relationships with Planned Parenthood.

He said the next boycott list will be made available in the next week. The last one included corporations that are household names for most Americans and, also, internationally.

Some of the new companies on the boycott list the pro-life group released over the summer included AOL and Darden Restaurants, a conglomerate that oversees popular restaurants like Bahama Breeze, The Capital Grille, LongHorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and Season 52.

Another restaurateur, Ignite Restaurants, made the list, and it includes Brickhouse Tavern+Tap and Joe’s Crab Shack.

Hilton Worldwide made the boycott list and it manages hotels ranging from Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inns/Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Hotels, and Homewood Suites. Kohl’s department stores, Mrs. Fields cookies, and Staples office supply stores were also added. [related]

LDI estimates that the boycott has cost Planned Parenthood more than $40 million since the Corporate Funding Project (CFP) began nearly 18 years ago.

Some of the companies that made a return appearance on the boycott list included The Gap clothing stores and Freddie Mac, the troubled government-sponsored mortgage firm. AlphaGraphics, Wells Fargo (including Wachovia), Nike, Time Warner, Bank of America, Walt Disney, Johnson & Johnson, Lost Arrow (Patagonia, etc.), Chevron, and Nationwide Insurance are among the other companies included in the boycott list again.