Shameless

A couple weeks ago, my wife and I received some mail from:

The Executive Mansion 410 E Jackson Springfield, IL 62701-1719

It was addressed “To the Parents of Maria Jansen.” “What could this be?” we both thought. Upon opening it, we found a card saying “Welcome, Little One” with a collection of stuffed animals looking out the window at an approaching stork carrying a bundle in its beak. Opening it up, the right flap said, “The world is one baby sweeter now.” The main part of the card reads:

Congratulations on the birth of your new baby! Childbirth is an exciting event for every family, and we are proud to share in your joy. A healthy child is a happy child. Therefore, it is important that your baby receive proper immunizations by two months of age. It will help to ensure protection against future illnesses. Best wishes to your whole family on this very special occasion. Rod Blagojevich

At this point, we had to chuckle. Honestly, we don’t know which of our girls’ births this card was intended to recognize, as all three of our daughters are named Maria. (We call each of them by their middle names). Presumably, it was sent in response to the birth of our yountest daughter, Maria Lucia, who was born in September 2005. Which means the card is at least a year late (“…it is important that your baby receive proper immunizations by two months of age”). I guess when your office is as scandal-plagued as Governor Blagojevich’s is, these sorts of things get put on the back burner. Inside the card was another (smaller) card that said, on the front, “Breastfeeding Your Child,” with a picture of a baby. On the other side was a note that reads:

Dear Illinois Mother: Congratulations on the new addition to your family. As a mother of two young daughters, I know how special this time can be, and want to take a moment to make sure you know about a new state law that directly affects you. The new law makes it illegal to prohibit women from breastfeeding in public places. It is every woman’s right to breastfeed her child in any place, public or private. Please help spread the word to all mothers that prohibiting them from breastfeeding in public places is nt only wrong, it is now illegal. Again, congratulations. Sincerely Patricia Blagojevich First Lady

My wife and I are both staunch advocates of breastfeeding. But this is quite possibly one of the stupidest laws that’s ever been passed. It’s a stupid law because it’s so obviously unnecessary, and thus, ultimately, a waste of our tax dollars. It makes about as much sense as a law stating that it’s illegal to prohibit donut shops from selling anything made with sugar. At this point, it’s worth noting — for those of you who may not already know — that Rod Blagojevich is running for re-election on November 7. It’s also worth noting that he is strongly pro-abortion. (The Republican candidate for Illinois governor, Judy Baar Topinka, is also pro-abortion. For more on her, see this post from earlier this year.) Blagojevich is also one of a handful of governors nationwide who has ruled that pharmacists essentially have no rights of conscience while on the job, and that they must dispense birth control prescriptions “without delay”, even if they believe birth control is sinful. I think you’ll understand, then, why my wife and I couldn’t help but look at the “The world is one baby sweeter now” card from Rod & Patty — delivered to our house one year late, but before the election! — with not a little cynicism. And, for the icing on the cake… This press release, issued today by Doug Scott of Life Decisions International:

Planned Parenthood Uses Bigotry in Online ‘Game’ to Promote Candidate

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 — “It seems that releasing a video ‘cartoon’ depicting the murder of Christian pro-life activists is not enough for Planned Parenthood,” said Douglas R. Scott, Jr., president of Life Decisions International (LDI). “The group has released an online ‘game’ that paints those who oppose the abortion-committing corporation’s agenda as Neanderthals.” The game was created to promote the reelection of Governor Rod R. Blagojevich, D-Ill. “Not long ago, some pharmacists were refusing to fill prescriptions for contraception,” reads the introduction to the game. “See what it was like in the RX ZONE.” The goal of the RX Zone game is to “get your RX filled as fast as you can!” The player is told to choose one of three characters to continue the game: a recently married man; a married career woman, or a female college student. The newlywed is at the pharmacy to get a prescription for “emergency” birth control for his wife. The career woman, with a child in tow, is there to pick up her birth control. The college student is going to pick up a prescription for “emergency” birth control. The game begins. Each character begins the journey at a street corner near the entrance to a pharmacy. The player’s task is to guide the selected character through the “maze” until the drugs are obtained. Before entering the building, characters encounter pro-life protesters carrying signs which read, “I miss the 50’s!”; “Keep women BAREFOOT & PREGNANT”; “Conditions for sex: married, procreating, missionary position”; and “Birth Control is for LOOSE WOMEN.” After entering the store, the characters encounter a young man, an elderly woman, and a professional-looking man and woman. “Could you tell me where to get this prescription for Viagra filled?” the elderly woman tells one of the characters. “It’s for my boyfriend.” “You want to know where to get your prescription for emergency contraception filled?” the professional woman asks each character. “I tell you, I don’t have all the answers.” After proceeding to the counter, a female pharmacist says to the newlywed, “Doing your wife’s dirty work, hmmm?” A male pharmacist tells the career woman: “Nope. Not gonna fill it. Please move aside, while I fill this Viagra prescription.” The female pharmacist tells the college student: “Emergency contraception? You must get around.” Beginning to leave the pharmacy, each character reencounters the professional looking man and woman, who turn out to be Judy Baar Topinka, the Republican candidate for governor of Illinois, and Joe Birkett, the candidate for lieutenant governor. “Have you met my running mate, Joe Birkett?” Topinka asks. “Let me introduce you to one of the most rabid anti-choice hardliners in the state. He wants to control your sex life!” (Topinka is pro-abortion but not pro-abortion enough for Planned Parenthood. She favors parental consent and spousal notification. She opposes partial birth abortion. Birkett is pro-life.) Returning to the pharmacy counter, a male pharmacist suggests that the newlywed, “Try the pharmacy in Paris, France.” The female pharmacist tells the career woman: “Aren’t you old enough to know better?” And to the college student she says, “Emergency contraception? You must get around.” Turning to leave the pharmacy once again, the characters encounter Governor Blagojevich. “You don’t need a four leaf clover or an old horse shoe to get your prescription filled,” he tells the newlywed. “Call the hotline…and make a complaint.” This is followed by a statement by Planned Parenthood which praises Blagojevich for issuing an “emergency rule requiring pharmacies to fill prescriptions without hassle, lecture, or delay.” He was also hailed for sending a letter to the FDA urging the agency to make “emergency” birth control available over-the-counter. Blagojevich threatened to make the drugs more available to women in Illinois if it failed to act. “The FDA decided to make emergency contraception available over the counter for women over 18 in August 2006,” the statement continues. “Protect your choice in the pharmacy. “Re-elect Gov. Blagojevich on Nov. 7!” All three characters return to the pharmacy counter where a male pharmacist says, “Contraception? Of course! Here you go!” “Once again, Planned Parenthood has added the use of bigotry to its campaign of disinformation,” said LDI’s Scott. “The use of such tactics is commonplace for Planned Parenthood and its legions. They seek to paint pro-life activists as uncaring woman-haters, even though pro-life people care about all human beings. They seek to convince people that ’emergency contraception’ cannot cause an abortion, even though it usually acts as an abortifacient. They seek to depict Governor Blagojevich as a hero, even though he is hostile to preborn human beings. Will the people of Illinois and the nation tolerate or be fooled by such nonsense? Time will tell.” The “game” may be found at: http://www.pro-choiceillinois.com/PPIV/index.html

At first, I thought Scott was joking. He’s not. The link above really does go to a “game” called “The RX Zone,” and it is as he describes it. “The world is one baby sweeter now…”