Spartan Scroll

Anti-Abortion groups are boycotting the sales of Girl Scout cookies for a ridiculous reason that started over a single retweet on Twitter.Recently, on their official Twitter, Girl Scouts USA retweeted from The Huffington Post a list of who should be made 2013 Women of the Year.

On that list was Democratic Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, who is known for her filibuster against anti-abortion legislation in the state. According to cookiecott.com, Pro-Life Waco, a community based organization that stands for human dignity and an unborn’s right to live, started this boycott because they claim that Girl Scouts USA is showing an attachment to pro-abortion leaders.

On their official Facebook, Girl Scouts USA shared an article found in The Washington Post about women who made a difference in 2013, and that article mentioned Secretary of Health Kathleen Sebelius, who is known for being pro-abortion. This is not the first time that anti-abortion groups led by Pro-Life Waco have linked Girl Scouts with abortion rights, as they had already called for a cookie boycott in 2004, when they accused Girl Scouts USA to be in affiliation with Planned Parenthood. According to girlscouts.org there is no partnership with Planned Parenthood.

Ironically Davis commented that she indeed considers herself as “pro-life,” after making various headlines for filibustering a bill prohibiting late-term abortions. According to an interview with Davis on CBS 11 News, Davis claims that we need to stray away from labels, and to have zero abortions in the state of Texas. Davis then began to criticize the Republican state legislature’s cuts in 2011 of programs created to prevent unwanted pregnancies. She then went on to say that she still supports women’s rights, but being pro-life does not end with stopping abortions.

The whole boycott seems to have been blown out of proportion and one-sided, as Girl Scouts USA has not shown any proof of being supportive of abortion rights. A retweet or a post does not represent an endorsement, which these groups fail to realize. In a USA TodayNetwork interview ,Girl Scouts USA spokeswoman Kelly Parisi said “ These groups are using our brand to push a political agenda on the backs of our girls.”

A common tactic used by Girl Scouts to sell cookies is to set up booths at local supermarkets as they put on their brightest smiles, usually expecting to answer questions about the cookies and what their local troop does. What they do not know is that a prospective customer could be an anti-abortionist ready to verbally attack poor innocent girls trying to sell boxes of cookies.

The fact that these girls could be verbally assaulted for things out of their hands is appalling. Everyone is entitled to his opinion, so these anti-abortionists have the right to be against abortion and voice their ideas, but the fact they are using this right in hopes that cookies fall drastically reflects poorly on their side. Because Girl Scouts USA is not involved with politics, they do not deserve this exploitation harming their reputation and finances just for the opposing side’s personal gain.