United Airlines CEO co-chairs Planned Parenthood gala
Abby Johnson posted a startling find today: United Airlines President and CEO Jeff Smisek and his wife, Diana Strassmann, are co-chairing Planned Parenthood of the Gulf Coast’s October 6 gala, to be held at Hyatt Regency Houston.
Within PPGC’s domain is the largest abortion clinic in the Western Hemisphere, Planned Parenthood Houston. As Abby wrote:
This abortion clinic’s goal is to perform at least 75 abortions, 6 days a week. They intend to perform abortions up to 25 weeks gestation. And THAT is what the CEO of United Airlines stands for.
Furthermore, PPGC stands accused of massive Medicaid fraud by a former employee.
Abby has provided a sample letter to the editor as well as Smisek’s email address, jeff.smisek@united.com.
Smisek is certainly entitled to privately support whichever causes he wants.
But I would think the CEO of the world’s largest airline would have better sense than to publicly tie his name and the name of his company to the United States’ largest abortion provider.
What kind of judgment is it that condones killing future customers?
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
I wasn’t a fan of United Airlines to begin with. They kept delaying my flights and lost my luggage.
Ewww. What a sleezeball. Won’t be flying United again!!
At least guys can still eat at Chick-Fil-A. Oh wait…..
Hal, are you trying to say that Chick-fil-a is giving money to Planned Parenthood now?
Hal,
No one is calling for a boycott of UA or denying them the right to use airports. Unlike “The Godfather” in Chicago who wanted to ban Chick-fil-a from building in his beloved Chicago, where people were being gunned down like dogs. How nice the mayor has his priorities straight.
I usually fly Delta anyway. Or US Airways and Frontier.
Why would such a major corporate entity like this step so very far out on such a skinny limb as this one (endorsing Planned Parenthood, the nation’s LARGEST abortion provider), to endorse the wholesale slaughter of the “least of these” – defenseless preborn babies!
SHAME on United Airlines!
As for me & my house, we won’t fly United!!
Hal seems to be confused. This is a pro-life website, not a pro-traditional marriage website. If he wants to marry his dog we don’t really care, as long as he doesn’t kill any babies.
Larry–good point! This is just plain bad business, isn’t it? Speaking at a PP event is about as good for your company’s PR as speaking at a swingers convention. Leaves a bad taste all around.
The ruling class elites think it necessary to support the latest liberal cause…a good career move for execs and CEO’s that keeps them moving in the glitter class social circles and makes them candidates for plum board positions in their peer’s companies. Plus, it keeps their companies out of the crosshairs of anti-capitalist agitators.
A safe bet is that you will not see the UAL CEO draw fire from OWS types or anti-one percenters.
John, if the Regulars here stopped bashing gay rights, I could post less often.
You were the first to allude to gay rights on this thread. Just sayin’.
Hal, you are free to post less often regardless.
Apples and oranges. Smisek has no regard for the lives or safety of innocent human beings, and he is CEO of a company responsible for the lives/safety of the same. That is reason enough to me to choose other airlines. Cathy, on the other hand, has not publicly aligned himself with serial killers of innocent women and children…
Won’t be flying UNited any time soon.
Hal, I understand Chik-Fil-A position on marriage was totally twisted by the left.
O well, you were the guy that said that Obama was going to make everything better.
Hey Hal, has the kool-aid caused any cavities?
It’s a bad business model to kill your future customers. Just sayin’.
Hal, and using nasty snide remarks to troll the traditional marriage supporters on a pro-life website is necessary because…?
…in all fairness Abby Johnson is the one who made this connection between CEO and PP. I looked at the invitation on PP’s site it is a personal invitation with no corporation mentioned by Jeff & his wife along with another couple. If United is donating corporate funds then let’s boycott, otherwise how about focusing on the corporations that do donate corporate funds like Southwest and Mesa Air?
Mary, of course Abby’s calling for a boycott
of United Airlines. Read her blog. Just let me know who the CEOs/CFOs are who support pro-life organizations (apart from Hobby Lobby, which I’m no longer using) so I can boycott them.
So it turns out that Chick-fil-A has actually not stopped supporting traditional marriage after all. That was just another Democrat lie. Typical. So, where’s Hal? Hopefully he already went to buy a chicken sandwich to celebrate his great victory.
Hisman, President Obama has made many things better. Youre welcome.
Here’s one
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-real-consequences-of-dadt
Then there’s ACA, ending the war in Iraq, andappointing two good justices to SCOTUS.
Kudos to Mr. Smisek for supporting Planned Parenthood and their mission to provide healthcare to some of the women who need it most. It’s laughable how people like this Jill Stanek just make up things like “This abortion clinic’s goal is to perform at least 75 abortions, 6 days a week.” and no one questions where she got this from or compels her to back it up with facts. Unfortunately Planned Parenthood is often the last and only hope for healthcare that some women have.
These health centers provide a wide range of safe, reliable health care and more than 90 percent is preventive, primary care, which helps prevent unintended pregnancies through contraception, reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections through testing and treatment, and screen for cervical and other cancers.
It’s also ironic how people who want to deny women this necessary care are so often the same ones that want to repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act. (I believe only because they don’t understand it.)
The goal of everyone, pro-choice or pro-life needs to be to eliminate unwanted pregnancies before they happen and that only happens with contraception and education. Two of the main things Planned Parenthood provides.
Kudos to Mr. Smisek for supporting Planned Parenthood and their mission to provide healthcare to some of the women who need it most. It’s laughable how people like this Jill Stanek just make up things like “This abortion clinic’s goal is to perform at least 75 abortions, 6 days a week.” and no one questions where she got this from or compels her to back it up with facts.
You might want to read the article fully and carefully before responding. Jill Stanek clearly indicated that she was quoting from another blog (written by a former PPGC clinic director), not making up anything.
As to whether it can be backed up with facts, I don’t personally have any way of directly verifying this. However, this article has some useful information:
http://www.chron.com/life/mom-houston/article/Planned-Parenthood-debuts-new-building-1717914.php
The following can be inferred:
– The facility in question has an entire suite for surgical purposes (abortions, sterilizations). An entire suite could reasonably be open six days a week.
– The waiting room has 60 seats. 75 abortions per day is consistent with this fact.
Unfortunately Planned Parenthood is often the last and only hope for healthcare that some women have. These health centers provide a wide range of safe, reliable health care and more than 90 percent is preventive, primary care, which helps prevent unintended pregnancies through contraception, reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections through testing and treatment, and screen for cervical and other cancers.
The fact still remains that they kill over 300000 human beings every year. Would you support the Taliban if they started providing safe, reliable, preventative healthcare? If not, then you can’t make an argument for supporting Planned Parenthood without assuming that it’s not a serious moral wrong to kill unborn human beings, a premise that pro-life advocates are not going to accept without proof.
Planned Parenthood is also not the only option for women. There are thousands of federally qualified health centres that provide similar services to uninsured women, and they could probably be improved if they got funding instead of Planned Parenthood. It does less than 2% of all pap tests nationwide. The only service that gets a double digit percentage is abortion (about 25%).
It’s also ironic how people who want to deny women this necessary care are so often the same ones that want to repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act. (I believe only because they don’t understand it.)
Firstly, this is an ad hominem argument. Even if Planned Parenthood opponents are the worst people in the world, Planned Parenthood could still be unworthy of support. To assume otherwise is intellectually dishonest. Secondly, the free birth control aspect negates the claim that Planned Parenthood is necessary for women to obtain affordable contraception. Thirdly, while I don’t pretend that I understand either America’s current healthcare system or Obamacare, it is likely that the latter provides abortion coverage:
http://www.politifact.com/georgia/statements/2012/sep/24/karen-handel/karen-handel-lays-out-case-against-obama-others-ne/
So it would seem that pro-lifers are completely justified in opposing it.
The goal of everyone, pro-choice or pro-life needs to be to eliminate unwanted pregnancies before they happen and that only happens with contraception and education. Two of the main things Planned Parenthood provides.
According to Planned Parenthood’s own estimates, they do more abortions than they supposedly prevent. Additionally, New York City has an extremely high abortion rate despite freely available contraceptives:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/04/nyregion/04abortion.html?pagewanted=all
Tony, according to Guttmacher, more than 50% of all abortions are given to women who were using contraceptives of some sort the month they became pregnant. So, clearly your rhetoric is sound and your methodology effective.