"American Idol" Poverty Program Funds Heading to Pro-Abortion Groups 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 19, 2007
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A pro-life organization that serves as a watchdog for corporate donations to Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups says the popular "American Idol" program is indirectly backing two organizations that endorse abortion.
Doug Scott, the head of Decisions International, said he’s disappointed to learn that two pro-abortion groups are among the charities that will benefit from its "Idol Gives Back" project.
The program says the goal of the project is to "raise awareness of the effects of poverty on children and young people" in the United States and Africa.
Corporate sponsors of the television show, such as Coca-Cola, AT&T, and the Ford Motor Company, have agreed to financially support the Charity Projects Entertainment Fund. However, the fund will, in turn, give part of the proceeds to UNICEF and Save the Children — two groups that support abortion.
"It is laudable that the people involved with ‘American Idol’ want to help the poor," Scott told LifeNews.com in statement. "But it is tragic that they would choose to do so through groups like UNICEF and Save the Children."
UNICEF has long denied it promotes abortion but its officials have helped write many documents that call for increased access to abortion and its legalization worldwide.
UNICEF has funded a program run by the Population Council, the group that holds the U.S. patent for RU-486. UNICEF has also supported a South African group (LoveLife) that actively promotes abortion to its mostly underage audience.
Meanwhile, Save the Children has a working relationship with what it calls "prominent international organizations."
Among these groups are several that are actively pro-abortion including the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Population Action International, and the U.S. Committee for UNICEF.
In 2001, Save the Children worked with Planned Parenthood, the Population Action Council and the pro-abortion National Audubon Society on its five-year "Planet Campaign."
The purpose of the campaign was to "raise awareness of the connections between international family planning and the health of children, women and the environment."
Scott said pro-life Americans disagree with the two organizations that abortion is a legitimate solution to the poverty and other problems that exist in Africa. He urged pro-life viewers to contact the corporations that own "American Idol."
"Ask the corporate officials to take whatever steps are necessary to drop UNICEF and Save the Children from the list of charities that will be supported through the ‘Idol Gives Back’ project," Scott said.
"Tell them you want to participate in this admirable effort but your deeply held beliefs do not allow you to do so," he added.
Without the change in the groups receiving the donations, Scott said that millions of Americans will be unable to participate in the program.
ACTION: May your views known by contacting the following people:
* Jasmine Borhan, Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications, Bertelsmann AG ([email protected])
* Gunter Thielen, Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer, Bertelsmann AG ([email protected])
* Gerhard Zeiler, Chief Executive Officer, RTLGroup ([email protected])
* Oliver Herrgesell, Executive Vice President Communications & Marketing, RTLGroup ([email protected])
* Tony Cohen, Chief Executive Officer, FremantleMedia Ltd. ([email protected])
* Lynne-Mei Lee, Corporate Communications, FremantleMedia Ltd. ([email protected])
* American Idol ([email protected]).
Related web sites:
Life Decisions International – https://www.fightpp.org
