Talk:Planned Parenthood

Undue weight issues in funding

This paragraph:

"The Christian Action Council, STOPP International, and Life Decisions International have advocated the boycott of donors to Planned Parenthood.[1] [2]"

The second source is not reliable and I still am not convinced that this is not all undue weight. These are tiny organizations, its akin to mentioning every little organization who's boycotted walmart in their article.. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 16:38, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Not to mention one ref is 20 years old, and the other is over 5 years old. Seems pretty fringy if you have to dig that deep to get a reliable source.Mattnad (talk) 17:26, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

WikimonOne picked the first source. It was also WikimonOne that decided to change it from a generic "pro-life groups request boycott" to a specific group boycotts it. The fact that WikiMonOne arbitrary requirement that the source that says people are boycotting PP has to be third party news organzation. The sites themselves could be used. One of numerous sites that list the fact can be used. All you have to do is do a google search on Life Decisions International and you will get hits on numerous pro-life group restating the same thing and requesting their members to follow suite. WikiMonOne's arbirtary requirement that goes well above and beyond "The reliability of a source depends on context. Each source must be carefully weighed to judge whether it is reliable for the statement being made and is the best such source for that context." All that is trying to be sourced is that groups have called for boycotting PP donors. Requiring that a 3rd party news organization say the same thing is going above and beyond the requirement.Marauder40 (talk) 17:55, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

SPSs can be used for self-issued statements. If there is really a questions as to whether or not "pro-life groups request boycott" of PP I can put some digging in and come up with more sources than anyone can shake a stick at. - Haymaker (talk) 18:08, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

No one is contesting whether these groups actually requested boycott. What we need is third party reliable neutral sources talking about it (recently preferably) to establish due weight and notability and to establish that it is not fringe. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 18:10, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Your definition of RS goes well above and beyond the actual requirement for RS. The List of boycotts page actually uses the boycott announcement from LDI as its source. The fact that most pro-life organizations pick up the fact in their newsfeeds and either relay it or promote it shows it isn't fringe. You are creating arbitrary requirements. Technically a Christian or Catholic newfeed would qualify as a 3rd party publisher, but I doubt in your mind it would. But the key is fitting the requirements for RS in the context in which the quote exists and what it is trying to say, not WikimonOne's interpretation of such. This link even praises http://www.all.org/article/index/id/MTQ5MA LDI and list, pretty good at showing it isn't fringe. Marauder40 (talk) 18:20, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

If we used your definition of RS in this article we would have to get rid of references 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 32, 36 and that is even without looking in detail at the references. Good thing your definition isn't the WP definition.Marauder40 (talk) 18:32, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

If you really felt that weight was the issue than why did you change the wording rather removing the sentence? - Haymaker (talk) 19:02, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

If we go back to generic, it makes sense to me to keep. It's a bit of a throwaway sentence, like saying "pro life groups are against Planned Parenthood as a supplier of abortion services" but it adds some dimension.Mattnad (talk) 19:07, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

There is a difference between saying walmart sold x amount of this item and quoting walmart announcing that on their article and including information from Civil War Trust about the Wilderness Battlefield on its article as a citation for that controversy, instead you would look for reliable sources in neutral publications. Your attempt to draw a connection between Planned Parenthood statistics used on its own article and fringe groups statements is ridiculous. Would it be okay if I added everything Planned Parenthood has said to criticize Live Action (organization) on their page with Planned Parenthood as a source? No, because you would want reliable sources for that. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 19:11, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

And by the way, I agree that we should find more reliable/neutral sources for facts in the article.. I've reduced the number significantly, but Planned Parenthood reporting non-controversial facts about itself is different that fringe anti-choice groups releasing statements about Planned Parenthood. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 19:12, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

It is not your place to label organizations "fringe". SPS can be used for statements, I too think we should move back to the generic "pro-life groups request boycott". - Haymaker (talk) 19:18, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

(ec)As I said your definition of what constitutes a RS is wrong. I never said you had to change the ones that use PP as a source, just using your own article as a example. I was just showing how ridiculous YOUR requirement was for RS. Honestly the original sentence without a source fits into the category of "the sky is blue" type obvious statements. The key for RS is does it fit with what is being sourced. It was only you that put the huge number of RS requirements on it. The fact that LDI was set up to produce boycott lists for PP and the fact that ALL the pro-life sites pick it up is pretty good statement that it isn't fringe. If you want more weight we can add the sources talking about the companies that stopped funding PP because of being on the list and things like that, but I agree with Mattnad that the original sentence could easily be used.Marauder40 (talk) 19:22, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

I've got to agree with Marauder here as to reliability. Organizations are reliable sources for their own opinions - LDI's call for a boycott, on its website, is a reliable source for the statement that LDI called for a boycott. It's notability and undue weight that are at issue here, not reliability. One sentence seems fine if the boycott has been picked up in mainstream news, like the NYT; are there no notable organizations that have called for a boycott, though? Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 20:49, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

There are only three times when we use Planned Parenthood as a source now. 23, 27 and 28. Take a look at those and if you actually think that these are citing "controversial claims" then post here and we can either cut them out or find reliable neutral sources for them. I'm fine with that, the point of requiring neutral/reliable sources is to cut out the fringe stuff and combat undue weight. All the Planned Parenthood references were basically because editors (including myself) were lazy and just cited it to Planned Parenthood when it was a basic uncontroversial claim but if you want to use that as justification for using fringe anti-choice group's as sources, we can cut out what you think is controversial. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 20:03, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Do you honestly consider the claim at hand to be a controversial one? - Haymaker (talk) 20:33, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

If you want to look for a less "fringy" critic, see what the Roman Catholic Church has to say about Planned Parenthood. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:40, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

I think it is undue weight and needs reliable/neutral sources to show why its notable for inclusion to the article. RCC is fringe when it comes to family planning issues, even many of their members don't agree with it on these issues.. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 21:00, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

I changed the sentence to reflect the age of the sources, I still do not see a good rationale for including the sentence to start it. 1) the organizations organizing these events are not even notable, 2) there are no recent reliable/independent sources to show non-trivial coverage, 3) it is undue weight considering the size of the section. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 19:26, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

LDI last updated their list August 2010. They update twice a year. The only thing that is far in the past is what you accept as reliable sources, not what WP accepts as RS. LDI's site itself is a RS for the fact they have asked for this. Again, this isn't fringe. Also every pro-life site/newsfeed picks up this fact. Catholic/Christian sites which MOST people in this case would allow as 3rd party since they aren't in and of themselves pro-life sites also pick this fact up. You could easily just go back to the original sentence that just stated that pro-life sites do this and it would be so much easier. As I said before it is one of those "is the sky blue" that pro-life sites request boycotts of PP and their donors.Marauder40 (talk) 21:47, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Yes, if you had mainstream publications picking it up that would throw out the fringe claim, but having a few news sites with known support for anti-choice Catholic/Christian goals does not establish that it is fringe. We don't have non-trivial coverage in neutral/independent reliable sources on it which means we need a very good rationale as to why this is not undue weight. I still haven't seen that rationale. Anti-choice organizations picking something up doesn't establish notability. LDI is not a notable organization to start with as far as I'm concerned (if you think it is, start an article and find the non-trivial reliable sources), so having them release a list doesn't establish weight. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 21:56, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Only problem is that none of what you just said is WP policy, pure and simple. It is only your statement of what you think the policy is and it is wrong.Marauder40 (talk) 21:59, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

I linked to policy above. You have not provided a rationale as to how using anti-choice websites as sources for a controversy somehow bestows weight to the controversy. Would you like to take a jab at that? Also, a rationale as to how these are not fringe would be appreciated... That doesn't even go to the neutral/non-reliable source issue. Why is an organization that isn't even notable enough for its own article's criticism notable? _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 22:06, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

I have already provided my reasons numerous times the chef one being you keep adding requirements that are not part of RS. Can you show me the requirement that an organization has to have an article before it is referenced in an article? Just because someone hasn't created the page yet doesn't make them unnotable. More arbitrary requirements. Can you show me a requirement that says that an independant party can't be someone that maybe just favors the same ideals? I guess we have to not allow any sources where the author was a democrat or a republican because they have a few on this to. Your requirements are not what WP says. All it says is that "Each source must be carefully weighed to judge whether it is reliable for the statement being made and is the best such source for that context." Marauder40 (talk) 22:09, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

I don't see your "reasons." If they don't have a page then we need proof that they are notable, feel free to provide that proof. Even if that proof exists, then it needs to be proven that they are not fringe. Finally it must pass the due weight and reliability tests. Provide a rationale for each of those kindly? _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 22:17, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

That sentence should be taken out! Nobody cares about the crazies! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sizzletimethree (talk • contribs) 00:42, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

Looks like nobody has demonstrated exactly why this sentence is due weight. Any takers? _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 06:46, 18 February 2011 (UTC)

Pretty simple it is one sentence in a section on funding. Many organizations have picked up the boycott listing and passed on the message. Organizations have stopped funding PP over being on the list. Makes it notable, and due weight. The paragraph without mentioning it is POV.Marauder40 (talk) 12:53, 18 February 2011 (UTC)

"Many organizations have picked up the boycott listing and passed on the message." Do you have non-trivial coverage from neutral reliable sources for this? _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 02:28, 19 February 2011 (UTC)

No rationale provided for the sentence to remain, I will remove it. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply}

Ugh, SPS can be used for statements about the organization issuing them. - Haymaker (talk) 21:42, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

Yes they can. But the issue here is, I think, WP:UNDUE. I don't know who these orgs are, and I see no reason to care about what they do or think. PhGustaf (talk) 21:49, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

This is not undue weight, several organizations have requested boycotts. Even WMO totally above and beyond requirements for news media coverage have been met to cover the quotes. Organizations outside of the pro-life movement directly have picked up the boycott requests. It is one sentence. It is not undue weight. It would be simpler to just say that pro-life group request the boycotts but other editors are requiring the lists of people that requested the boycotts. The only way it would be undue weight is if we added several sentences talking about which organizations have removed funding for being on the list and things like that, of course we could argue similar weight since organizations keep being added to the list that ARE funding PP.Marauder40 (talk) 15:24, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

It is undue weight, the sources are very old and if that's the best you can do then yes it is undue. Maybe once the section is like 3x the size it can be included in one sentence? _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply}

It is not undue weight, the sources are only old because YOUR requirements that you artificially add that are not WP requirements. One sentence is not undue weight especially considering the recent additions of additional organizations that support PP. That could be also be considered undue weight. It also isn't just "one editor".Marauder40 (talk) 15:32, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Again, the requirement that stuff be sourced from reliable third party sources is a wikipedia guideline. Your comparison of fringe activist groups with reputable major foundations is quite interesting but misguided. These are completely different factors. We should not include information from fringe groups with self-citations on the article about a health care provider one out of every four American women have received services from, if we include what fringe groups think, they should be sourced from reliable independent and neutral sources. It is undue weight, please stop beating a dead horse. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 17:16, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Your interpretation of the RS is what is flawed. As I have pointed out several times the official statement is that "Each source must be carefully weighed to judge whether it is reliable for the statement being made". You are the only person that keeps adding additional requirements to it. There is no requirement that says the source MUST be what you keep claiming it should be. FDI is not a fringe group, it is you that is calling it a fringe group. It was you the changed it from the more generic pro-life groups to be the actual names of the companies. As I said before pro-life groups use this list as the authoritive list. They reproduce it on their sites and call attention to it on their sites. If it was only LDI's site that listed the boycott list it would be fringe, that is not the case. Funny that you are fighting against the same arguments you are using to include things from different groups in pro-life articles, and yet you can't see the parallel.Marauder40 (talk) 17:37, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Does the following sound like fringe? From the second RS written in 2005 that is in the article. "Approximately 10,000 copies of the $15.75 list are distributed twice a year, including to 33 anti-abortion organizations that endorse it, ranging from Human Life International to Concerned Women for America, Christian Coalition, Family Research Council, American Family Association and Traditional Values Coalition." Doesn't sound like fringe to me.Marauder40 (talk) 20:22, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Well, now that you mention it... :-) --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 20:29, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Sounds both fringe and undue to me. Regardless, another editor has removed it from the article and others have disagreed with its inclusion. There is no consensus for its re-addition. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 01:11, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

It is very clear that it isn't fringe. Other editors have agreed for its inclusion. Earlier in the same thread the editor that removed it stated "If we go back to generic, it makes sense to me to keep. It's a bit of a throwaway sentence, like saying "pro life groups are against Planned Parenthood as a supplier of abortion services" but it adds some dimension." So I will add it back in with the generic sentence like he wanted.Marauder40 (talk) 13:53, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

Womans enews, over 5 years ago, plus a NYTime article from 20 years seems a little fringy or dated. But the main thing is that the section is giving a lot of attention to marginal groups who seem to have little to no impact. But, I take back my earlier edit - sorry about it. It's fair that we can have one line, generic as it is.Mattnad (talk) 15:44, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

The only reason for the age of the articles is the arbitrary roadblocks that WMO is throwing up in his definition of what makes a RS. But just because something is 5 years old doesn't invalidate it a RS. There was an article posted on several pro-life sites right before the March for Life in DC in January based on information from LDI saying which hotels not to stay in for the March for Life. Just because the news didn't make the New York Times, Washington Post, etc., doesn't mean it's not a RS. Usually the only time those sources cover this type of news is when there is violence on either side or some scandal on either side. In January hundreds of thousands of people marched peacefully in DC. There was only about 12 pro-abortion protesters present yet the only coverage of the entire event was from the Washington Post and it showed a picture of the pro-abortion protestors. Does that sound like NPOV coverage? To get any real coverage of the event you have to go to sources other then MSM. Thanks for the understanding. Marauder40 (talk) 15:58, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

I have added the {{who}} to your change. The current version gives a false sense of legitimacy to the boycott. I'm sorry Maraunder, but just because you don't like the Washington Post, doesn't not make it a reliable source. That is exactly the type of source we need in this article, you can claim bias all you want, but it's still a reliable source. On a side note, I dislike the Washington Post as well because they have extremely conservative pov, particularly in their endorsements. Regardless, that sentence needs to be clarified and my concerns about undue weight and verifiability still stand. As Jimbo Wales said, "If a viewpoint is held by a significant minority, then it should be easy to name prominent adherents," so lets hear the prominent adherents from recent, neutral, reliable sources. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 18:15, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

The "who" is clear from the cites. The cites list who. If you really want me to list a "who" LDI and the "33 anti-abortion organizations that endorse it" but I am sure you would complain about undue weight when I add the names of all 33 anti-abortion organization that endorse the list. You are the only person that says we need a "who" there instead of the generic statement. Marauder40 (talk) 18:23, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

If you have third party, neutral, reliable sources that give non-trivial coverage to each of those organization's endorsing the list, then it might be warranted, otherwise its undue weight. What's happening here is we're including information that is undue weight and really insignificant by hiding it under the guise of "pro life groups" when it really is just a few that have gotten coverage in sources I referred to above. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 19:52, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

6 of the 33 pro-life organizations are already listed in the cite which IS a third party RS. Also as I said before your definitition of what constitutes a RS is not what WP says is a reliable source. So those six, plus the coalition mentioned in the first site and LDI itself would make 8 organizations. It is much easier and within normal editing standards on WP to say "pro-life groups" instead of listing all 8.Marauder40 (talk) 19:58, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

We are going around in circles, do you have any new arguments? I would question whether womens's e-news is a reliable source, I don't see any previous discussions on the notice board and their Web of Trust rating is lower than Fox News'. You're welcome to make a policy based argument for another source as reliable, you're the only one who has questioned the criteria set forth. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 20:30, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

Ironic

Funny how the Controversy and criticism section continues to get added on to, while the arguably more important Services and facilities, Funding and other sections only seem to get coat hanger edits. What is it, are we trying to improve the article or just add as many dubious attacks about the organization as possible to it? _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 19:18, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

Anyone wanna help expand the other areas with information about PP? _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 04:43, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

Paragraph devoted to recent actions

This is currently a paragraph in the article:

In January 2011, pro-life activists from Live Action visited twelve different health centers posing as pimps who wanted abortions and birth control for child prostitutes. Excerpts of audio and video from footage taken during the visits seem to show a clinic manager in New Jersey being sympathetic to suggestions of criminal activity, leading to assertions by Live Action and by other conservative figures that Planned Parenthood health centers were violating the law. Although they suspected that the visits were staged, Planned Parenthood reported the incidents to the FBI before the videos were released. After Live Action released the videos, Planned Parenthood fired the New Jersey clinic manager, but asserted that the edits to the video footage were misleading. Live Action has claimed that they released the unedited footage to authorities in Virginia, but no charges were filed as a result of the original release or the supposedly uncut release.

There seems to be little justification to devoting an entire paragraph to just one sting. There was previously a consensus on this page that none of the stings were notable enough to be listed individually and that they should simply be summarized rather than providing a listing. I have not seen a discussion to justify moving away from that. Note that this is not news and if we're going to devote an entire paragraph to this, we should include a paragraph on LBJ's support, philanthropists who have supported the subject over the years and other historic developments rather than focusing almost entirely on recent events.

This expansion of the Live Action video is out of proportion to the actual impact. WP:UNDUE all over again.Mattnad (talk) 11:22, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

I think that we should just add this to the list of actions in the previous paragraph - maybe under "sex trafficking"? There's been no evidence given that this action was more notable than any of the others. --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 17:27, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

I think the Birmingham side of this thing is very much worth including. - Haymaker (talk) 20:54, 23 February 2011 (UTC)

Not really. The criticism section continued to get expanded with minor stuff. Not encyclopedic.Mattnad (talk) 03:07, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Agree with Mattnad, not due weight, not encyclopedic, probably not even notable. The criticism section is already about 5x larger than I think it should be in proportion to the article. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 14:16, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Not sure if I understand the question properly, but the stings certainly deserve coverage - see the thousands of articles about it on Google News. NYyankees51 (talk) 14:51, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Yes, a sentence or two summarizing all the stings is certainly in order, a whole paragraph? not so much. There is no reason why actions by a small group of people (the main figure of which has had "significant doubt [cast] on her credibility") who got attention (most of it negative imo) should somehow have such a large portion of an article dedicated to a health care provider who one out of every four American woman have turned to at some point in their life. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 15:11, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

One interesting thread in the article was how the Planned Parenthood in Tennessee was in compliance with Tennessee law, and that Rose didn't care.Mattnad (talk) 15:43, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

The sting videos created the firestorm that's fueling the effort to defund PP. It deserves much more than a sentence or two, and I would say the criticism is smaller than it should be. NYyankees51 (talk) 21:20, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not the news - if the recent stings lead to anything aside from tit for tat news articles, then maybe we need more detail. But the same efforts in the past had temporary news headlines, and then nothing. How is this different?Mattnad (talk) 23:23, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

break

Well stated Mattnad. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 01:12, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

I just said how it's different - these videos directly led to the House's vote last week to defund Planned Parenthood. NYyankees51 (talk) 01:35, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

So you're saying the house voted to stop funding planned parenthood because of one video of one planned parenthood employee behaving badly (in theory) and not because they provide abortions? There is also discussion about stopping funding for NPR. Is that because of Live Action too? Or maybe a Republican lead house has an agenda to show how tough they are on abortion providers? At any rate, common sense interpretation aside, Planned Parenthood's funding is still intact.Mattnad (talk) 01:54, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

These videos directly lead to that? So let me get this straight, on the SBAL article, you're saying that they're credited with the house vote and on this article you're saying it was the videos? Gimmie a break. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 04:42, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

Not to pile on, but NYyankees51 wanted to add this blog reference House Votes to Defund Planned Parenthood Over Abortion to another article which give credit to yet another organization. But it's simpler than that. The house was already debating defunding PP when Live Action distributed their video. Do you really think that a vote split down partisan lines over "stopping abortion funding" would have been different? How many republicans would have cross party lines to block a bill by their house leadership in your opinion if Rose had not released the video?Mattnad (talk) 10:26, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

By definition, things are notable if they have received coverage by 3rd party RSs. Birmingham and several of these other stings are very much notable. - Haymaker (talk) 18:03, 26 February 2011 (UTC)

Incorrect. By definition, things are not notable if they have not received coverage by RSs. The converse does not apply. --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 18:08, 26 February 2011 (UTC)

Sections and section headings

184.... believes that it's POV to suggest that anti-abortion violence is committed by people who oppose abortion. I'm sympathetic to his claim, but that necessitates that we find a section heading more specific than "Actions by pro-life activists" for these video hoaxes, because that, conversely, implies that anti-abortion violence couldn't possibly be committed by "pro-life activists." Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 17:22, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

If you look through the archives you will see where that specific title was discussed. It went back and forth between "stings" and stings without quotes. One set of editors argues that with quotes people are inserting a POV. The other set of editors argues that without the quote you are giving more credit where credit is due to the stings. Actions was a middle ground that was acceptable by both sides. This issue was solely related to the videos, not the violence.Marauder40 (talk) 18:06, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

Interesting that WMO changed it back to "stings" again since the last time this came up, this was said "Use "action" for both "attacks" and "stings" Sitush (talk) 19:11, 7 February 2011 (UTC)", "Good idea, change made. WikiManOne 19:13, 7 February 2011 (UTC)", "Better. Thanks. Mattnad (talk) 19:41, 7 February 2011 (UTC)" Also the new sentence " often perpetrated and incited by pro-life activists" is extrememly POV. I looked through the sources and none of them say "often", most of the sources use the term extremists, only one uses pro-life activists and that is from a blog page which is questionable as a RS.Marauder40 (talk) 18:19, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

I don't think it has to be "stings" or " 'stings' " - I just think "actions" is a term that under normal circumstances would encompass violence, so deliberately making it not encompass violence is making a statement. Could we use "Videos by..."? Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 19:39, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

I personally don't see a problem with "Videos by ..."Marauder40 (talk) 19:49, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

Yes, and that concensus included having pro-life violence under that heading, if you want to go back to that, feel free. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 19:50, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

I wasn't the person that split it out, but it does make sense to have it split out since they are seperate topics.Marauder40 (talk) 19:52, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

Perhaps 184..., who split it off, will weigh in. Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 19:56, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

They are separate topics but neither of them deserve their own section in the article (although the violence should probably be expanded...), thus it was determined that it would be best to simply name the section "pro-life actions" (or something to that effect) and include everything there. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 20:34, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

"perpetrated or incited by pro-life activists"

Quotes from some of the sources in that paragraph (some added by me, some were already there):

• Religious violence and abortion, p. 207: "While not a member of Operation Rescue, she had attended one of its meetings and was, according to her attorney, motivated by materials she got there."
• Man charged with driving into Planned Parenthood facility: "Derosia...watched abortion coverage on a 'Catholic channel' and decided that 'he wasn't doing enough protesting.'" "[He] was heard shouting Bible verses and the words, 'Close down the Auschwitz death camp'".
• A day after cardinal's appeal...: "Mr. Malvasi, described by the authorities as...an anti-abortion zealot..."

I'm sure it'd be easy to find more. (I doubt PP is unique in having most of the attacks against it committed by people who don't oppose abortion, and just happened to have bombs and were looking for something to do with them, or another silly explanation like that.)

-- Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 06:02, 27 February 2011 (UTC)

I think its pretty clear that they were, in fact, perpetrated by pro-life activists. Thanks for finding more sources for that, although I must say that I think the Southern Poverty Law Center's report would have been sufficient. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 06:20, 27 February 2011 (UTC)

It didn't actually refer to violence committed against PP specifically. As I said, I doubt it's a different species of bomber that goes after PP as opposed to unaffiliated clinics, but I thought it was better to find references that directly supported the statement. Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 06:29, 27 February 2011 (UTC)

Really, I don't understand the rationale that "individuals who take actions furthering the pro-life cause" is somehow different from "pro-life activists".--SarekOfVulcan (talk) 17:58, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

I think we are getting into symantics. I am not the person making the changes, but your average pro-life activists and all the national pro-life organizations do not agree with, do not promote, and actually dispise anyone that causes violence at an abortion clinic. Saying "pro-life activists did..." is similar to saying "Muslums did..." when it is only those on the fringe and usually don't belong to the organizations at all do those things. If I remember right the only source that used the term "pro-life activists" was a blog and none of the sources used the word "often" which was in an earlier version of edits.Marauder40 (talk) 18:48, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

If somebody shoots an abortion doctor because the guy was sleeping with the perp's wife (I think that was a Law&Order episode), that's not anti-abortion violence. If a crime is unsolved, we can't just assume automatically that it was a pro-life activist and not someone angry for reasons completely unrelated to abortion. Sure, it might be our guess - but Wikipedia isn't for guesswork. In the edits leading up to this revert, the IP user seems to have gone through the cites one by one and removed ones that pertained to unsolved crimes (I haven't reviewed the sources - just going off of edit summaries). To me, that seems a more than reasonable thing to do. There is sufficient proven anti-abortion violence targeting PP clinics that there's no good reason to include unsolved crimes and guess who might have committed them. --B (talk) 19:41, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

Right, and I agree with that to a point. It was the last edit, where the IP changed "anti-abortion violence perpetrated or incited by pro-life activists" to "anti-abortion violence perpetrated or incited by individuals with anti-abortion viewpoints" that I really don't get.--SarekOfVulcan (talk) 19:48, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

That's one I would have to think about. Definitely in some cases, they were "pro-life activists", but if someone with little or no prior history of activism commits an anti-abortion crime, does that make them a "pro-life activist"? I don't know and am just thinking out loud - I'm not convinced one way or the other on that wording. --B (talk) 19:53, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

(ec)Based on the revert by PhGustaf I just looked through the references. The Brittney Hooper one definitly doesn't deserve to be in the article for what it cites because as you said, it is unsolved vandalism. The ml.newbank.com cite only provides a snippet of the article and says "Purchase this article for (2.95)" so probably shouldn't be listed at all. The Star Tribue article references a mentally disturbed guy that said he did it because of watching abortion coverage on a "Catholic channel", but that is similar to saying someone did violence from playing video games or watching a movie. The first two are definite should go, the third is REAL questionable.Marauder40 (talk) 19:54, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

That third case was who I was thinking about - does committing this crime make him a "pro-life activist"? --B (talk) 20:01, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

If he was taking an action for the purpose of advancing the pro-life cause, I'd say "yes". --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 20:12, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

And since the article says that after watching that channel, he decided he "wasn't doing enough protesting", that firms up my yes. --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 20:14, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

I disagree here. You seem to be synthasising here yourself. "wasn't doing enough protesting" could mean he never protested or he was on the front lines every day. There is no way to know what he meant. Nothing in this article says that before this happened he did anything as a "pro-life" activist.Marauder40 (talk) 20:17, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

You mean besides ramming his car into the front of the clinic shouting "Close down the Auschwitz death camp"? --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 20:30, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

Like I said "before this happened".Marauder40 (talk) 20:41, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

Sorry, reading too fast.--SarekOfVulcan (talk) 20:43, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

Maybe. Take it out of the realm of abortion for a minute. I've never been to a protest rally of any kind on any issue and my only political involvement has been that I have been to see maybe four candidates speak (Jim Gilmore, Don Beyer, Mike Huckabee, John McCain). If one day I were to go to a Tea Party rally, does that make me a "Tea Party activist" or am I just some guy who went to a rally one day? --B (talk) 20:23, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

I'm not sure that analogy holds. I think it would be more accurate to suggest that you went to the rally out of curiosity, were inspired, went to the grocery store, cleaned out their tea supply, and dumped it on the Federal Building's doorstep. Are you an activist now? --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 20:28, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

The only problem is that there is no proof he attended anything. Just that he saw it on TV. This fits under that category of trying to blame the media for crimes. Nothing says that he ever did anything before watching this show on TV.Marauder40 (talk) 20:32, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

Both are good points. So to make the analogy more on point (since there was only the single act of "activism"), a closer scenario would be if I was paying my taxes, decided they were too high, then decided to dump the tea on the Federal Building's doorstep. Actually, that sounds at least vaguely similar to the 2010 Austin plane crash. Was this guy an "activist" or was he just a loony nutjob? --B (talk) 20:36, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

Only addressing your second point -- that article appeared in a newspaper, and is verifiable whether the URL supplied for convenience works. That's not grounds for excluding it. (Besides, I'm looking at it right now through my local public library's website.) --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 20:04, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

That said, the article talks about crimes, and says that "[abortion opponents'] rhetoric was inflammatory and would incite some people to this sort of thing", but doesn't state that the crimes were committed by pro-life activists (however you want to phrase it), so if the others go, this one can too. --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 20:10, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

(ec) I was just going to ask that question and you beat me to it ;) I agree that none of these references that were removed by the IP editor should be in the article for the statement they are trying to back-up. Marauder40 (talk) 20:17, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

I agree that the point of contention is primarily semantic. I don't think it's unfair to define "a person who commits anti-abortion actions after being inspired by anti-abortion rhetoric" as an anti-abortion activist. Or "pro-life" if you'd prefer that term. We could debate about whether attending a rally counts as an "action," or whether one would have had to speak at it or organize it for it to count, but I think the incidents we're talking about are certainly "actions." Marauder40, you mention that most anti-abortion individuals and groups do not commit violence, which is certainly true - can you find a noun that better conveys that distinction? "Individuals with anti-abortion viewpoints..." is clumsy and still doesn't make that distinction, but on the other hand "terrorist" is discouraged. If we can't find a better word, I think "activist" is fine - people know that not all anti-abortion activists commit violence, right?

As for the references, Threats prompt more security is paywalled so I can't see if it comments on the assailant's motives, but I had assumed it was there to support the statement that PP has been subject to attacks, and/or the types of attacks. (Sarek, you said you can see it? Does it say anything about the motives?) Can the citations be reorganized so that the ones that attest attacks or detail the types of attacks are next to statements about the types of attacks, while ones that mention motivation follow "activists" (or whatever term we end up using)?

-- Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 20:58, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

I think the simpliest thing and least POV thing to do is just remove the portion of the sentence that says "perpetrated or incited by pro-life activists". Let people reading it draw their own conclusions. The sentence as it stands seems to lump the peaceful protesters that pray around clinics with the zealots that do more. I am not trying to say what qualifies someone as a "pro-life" activist. But just like you wouldn't say that rock-band xyz fans are murderers just because someone listened to their music and killed someone the same goes here.Marauder40 (talk) 21:12, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

No one is saying "'pro-life' activists are violent." We are saying "these violent people are 'pro-life' activists," because we have sources that say that. Since when do we hesitate to mention affiliations when they are relevant? We certainly make no bones about referring to Islamic terrorists. And we have a whole article on Charles Manson and "Helter Skelter." I think you're reading into the sentence a subtext that isn't there. In the meantime, shall we brainstorm alternate words for "activists"? (Someone had suggested "extremists" earlier, right? How does that sound? Or perhaps it's unsuitable for the same reason "terrorist" is, I don't recall.) Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 21:19, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict)Roscelese, the actual threats were not included in the article, as they were under investigation. I think I agree with Marauder that removing the phrase is the most-neutral thing to do. That way, we're not arguing about the motives of the people in the references.--SarekOfVulcan (talk) 21:21, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

I'm not really sure why argument is necessary. Our sources say they were motivated by opposition to abortion; it doesn't seem like there's any deeper meaning to argue about. Not sure if you saw my last comment because of the edit conflict - would a substitute for "activists" help? (is "extremists" a word to avoid? because that would definitely solve the problem of "these people do not represent the mainstream anti-abortion movement.") Alternately, there is the idea of saying that the violence was motivated by opposition to abortion, rather than that the people were. This may seem tautological, but the lead of anti-abortion violence (and even the first paragraph of the definition section) defines it strictly in relation to its targets, without a word as to its perpetrators or motives. Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 21:32, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict)Actually I inserted extremists in one of my edits that was removed ;) I think this fits in the same category as trying to lump all Muslums in as terrorists, when we know they aren't. Everyone makes great efforts to say "Muslum extremists" or things like that. Since I previously added extremists instead of activists I definitly would be happy with that change or removing the portion of the sentence. Also I don't seem to be the only person reading the subtext into it since several people have been trying to modify that line.Marauder40 (talk) 21:28, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

I'd thought 184's problem was originally that it wasn't adequately supported by the sources, but I think that's been ameliorated - and we're discussing the semantic issue right now! :) However, check out WP:EXTREMIST - it turns out it is a word to avoid. In the spirit of other policies, maybe it would still be okay, though? Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 21:32, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

I think "extremist" is only supposed to be avoided if you are trying to label a SPECIFIC person, organization, or group as extremist. This case isn't a specific group.Marauder40 (talk) 21:37, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

I mean, it kind of is several specific people, but that makes sense, I think you're right. "perpetrated or incited by pro-life extremists," then? Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 21:49, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

It is widely known that abortion against abortion clinics is perpetrated and incited by "pro-life" activists. I don't think saying "extremists" is necessary as "pro-life activists" are by definition extremists. _WM^O _{Please leave me a wb if you reply} 00:50, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Really? This is your first edit coming back from a block? To say that people who peacefully disagree with abortion are extremists? --B (talk) 00:53, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Outdent: This is a pretty semantic debate. "extremist" is also in the eye of the beholder. "Activist" is actually a pretty broad, and in my view, a neutral enough term. It differentiates between those who are sympathetic to a cause (e.g. supporter) from those who actively participate (e.g. activist). Is the concern that "activist" should not include people who commit crimes because it tars all others who are protesting via legal means? Without being POV, one could say that "some activists commit crimes in pursuit of their goals, but not all activists are criminals". Even some of the video taped stings broke laws against secret recordings. Should we not refer to them as "activists" since they broke laws? If a pro-life activist gets arrested and convicted for trespass while protesting at a clinic, can we no longer call them an activist because they broke the law? It's a bit arbitrary, but that's essentially the argument being made against "activist" - if someone does something bad we need to distinguish them from everyone else.Mattnad (talk) 17:11, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Joining the discussion late. I just reverted my own edits to this page from yesterday and apologize for my violation of the 1RR rule. The now-restored language that reads "Planned Parenthood clinics have been the target of many instances of anti-abortion violence perpetrated or incited by pro-life activists..." is both inaccurate and POV. The first problem is the use of the term "pro-life activists." What is a pro-life activist? To me, the term would appear to relate to an individual affiliated with--or even actively involved with--the pro-life movement. That is a problem here. Why? (1) Some of the cited sources relate to situations where Planned Parenthood clinics were vandalized and the perpetrators had not been caught. How can we assume that the perpetrators were pro-life activists--or even pro-life at all? (2) Some of the cited sources relate to situations where a single individual (in one case, a single individual who was identified as having a history of mental illness) with pro-life sympathies attacked a Planned Parenthood clinic. If there is no connection between a perpetrator and the larger pro-life movement, it does not make sense to describe that person as a pro-life activist. Not every person who is pro-life is a pro-life activist, any more than every person who is pro-choice is a pro-choice activist. (3) By labeling these perpetrators as pro-life activists, the language (at least in my eyes) implies a connection with the pro-life movement; in turn, this tacitly implies that the pro-life movement condones and supports violent and criminal behavior in regard to Planned Parenthood clinics. As an editor, I don't see any indication in the cited sources that this is the case. As a pro-lifer, I defy any editor to identify one single pro-life organization in the United States that condones violence against Planned Parenthood clinics in any way. Hope this helps.

In conclusion, I would urge that the relevant sentence be modified to read as follows: "Planned Parenthood clinics have been the target of many instances of anti-abortion violence perpetrated or incited by individuals with pro-life viewpoints, including but not limited to bombing, arson, and attacks with chemical weaponry."184.74.22.161 (talk) 05:05, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

Infobox map

Does File:Location United States.svg serve any purpose in the infobox? It seems a little silly to have it there just to show the location of the United States. If we had a map of Planned Parenthood locations or a heat map showing the number of locations per state or some such thing, that would be useful. But showing where the US is doesn't seem helpful. I somewhat randomly looked at a handful of articles that use the same template and I only found two that have similar maps in the infobox - European Broadcasting Union and World Trade Organization. In both cases, the map is showing useful information, not simply where tho locate the US. --B (talk) 02:56, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

I agree, it's not particularly helpful. It occurs to me that a map for International Planned Parenthood Federation might actually be useful, and if that's ever created (I'm not good with images, though I can help with research and suggestions), do you think it might be a good idea to use that map, with the US highlighted? Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 03:01, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

I would think that for International Planned Parenthood Federation, we would want one with the countries that have Planned Parenthood offices highlighted. Wikipedia:Graphic Lab is somewhere that images can be requested. --B (talk) 03:22, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

Oh, I wasn't clear - perhaps one version of the map could be created for the IPPF article, and then separate versions for all the national affiliates would be the main map but with "extra" highlighting on the country in question. Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 03:30, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

Hmm, I suppose. That may be confusing more than it would be useful, though. --B (talk) 03:33, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

Yeah, it's not super-important to have a map anyway, one would hope people know where the United States is on a map. Although I do think I'll request one for IPPF. Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 03:35, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

Or not. They have affiliates in a lot of countries. Roscelese (talk ⋅ contribs) 03:58, 28 February 2011 (UTC)