Summary of Study #7 – Saving Grace: Examining the Planned Parenthood Brand (and the issue of women’s health)

Overview:

Study title: “Saving Grace: Examining the Planned Parenthood Brand (and the issue of women’s health)”

August 2015

70 interviews of women (age) were conducted in New York, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles

Study:

Background

Objectives:

Weaken and discredit the PP brand
Communicate the dangers of abortion
Reduce the number of abortion clinics
Encourage a Culture of Life in America.

Findings

Congressman Chris Smith, (R-NJ), requested that Vitae Foundation investigate the current marketing messages of abortion advocates in an effort to better articulate the pro-life message in an effective and persuasive manner.

The findings from this study include the following:

The strength of the Planned Parenthood brand,
The “healthcare” message now being marketed by Planned Parenthood,
Building the Pregnancy Help Center brand,
The impact of people outside the abortion facility,
Chemical abortion promotion.

Strength of the Planned Parenthood Brand

The Planned Parenthood brand has a tremendous level of loyalty among the younger segment of women of childbearing age. The level of loyalty will be difficult to penetrate. The audience is divided into the youngest of the women in their fertile years who are the recipients of services at Planned Parenthood and the “legacy customer” who was a customer of Planned Parenthood and who now refers, and in many cases, facilitates a younger sister or friend obtaining Planned Parenthood services.

The emotional connectivity of Planned Parenthood and their customers is a brand promise that what is discussed at Planned Parenthood and the services provided will never be divulged to parents or significant others. Planned Parenthood enables the young audience to explore their sexual behavior without anyone knowing, namely parents and guardians, thus purposely involved in the furtherance of dangerous and risky behavior. The younger audience and even the legacy customer were not aware of the selling of baby parts by Planned Parenthood. Those that were aware were troubled. One respondent said, “I relived the abortion all over.”

The customers of Planned Parenthood sever their relationship with the organization upon being able to afford a medical doctor either through insurance or ability to pay. These individuals typically remain loyal to Planned Parenthood but are significantly removed from direct services. The young audience and legacy customers can most effectively be reached by shifting the debate to consumerism. From this perspective, Planned Parenthood is extremely vulnerable as they do not follow the best practices of the healthcare profession.

A direct attack on the credibility of Planned Parenthood poses significant challenges, most notably the expansive wealth and influence of Planned Parenthood. They have the resources to destroy the messenger while disregarding the message as we saw in the recent body part sale videos. Efforts to discredit Planned Parenthood through an emphasis on consumer rights and fraudulent healthcare offered by Planned Parenthood while simultaneously re-branding Pregnancy Help Centers will highlight what the respondents of the study stated were the negatives of Planned Parenthood and offer women practical, desirable, positive alternatives to the Planned Parenthood brand. Shifting customers from Planned Parenthood to a Pregnancy Help Center is an effective way to impact their profit margin.

The Planned Parenthood Healthcare Message

The study demonstrated that women who have abortions at Planned Parenthood do not refer to abortion as curing a disease or treating an illness. The reasons given for abortions were socio-economic and familial. In earlier studies, it was discovered that women seek abortions to restore their current self and protect their future self. The current self is typically referred to as a lifestyle or career. The future self is what the young woman anticipates her career or lifestyle will be like as she matures. In yet other studies, it was discovered that many women, even young teenagers, write a life plan. As they mature, they live out the life plan that they wrote as young girls. Consequently, the current self and the future self are extremely important, and women will go to great lengths, even so far as having an abortion, to protect both.

This study shows that there is an additional future holistic, healthy, happy self which is known tacitly as a desire for happiness, self-respect, admiration, freedom from guilt, and essentially a state of emotional well-being. Abortion destroys the future holistic, healthy, and happy self. It was further discovered that Planned Parenthood does not do pre- or post-abortion counseling to address the loss of the future holistic, healthy, and happy self.

Given the best practices of the healthcare profession today, Planned Parenthood falls far short of providing customers with “whole person health.” This practice includes five components: physical, social, ethical, emotional, and mental. Planned Parenthood, however, only superficially treats several of these components and does not treat at all the emotional needs of the patient either in the short or long term. If they were to offer post abortion counseling, it would be an admission that abortion causes harm to women. Planned Parenthood rarely treats the women physically or emotionally after the abortion, leaving that to nearby emergency rooms and professional counselors. Furthermore, Planned Parenthood does not treat the social needs of women as it pertains to an unwanted pregnancy and abortion. Planned Parenthood simply makes the woman un-pregnant, and after the abortion sends her back to the social environment of poor values, risky behavior, poor choice of friends, and other dynamics that enhanced the likelihood of a pregnancy. It can easily be concluded from the research that healthcare defined by Planned Parenthood is merely a marketing term with no meaningful application to the social, emotional, and mental needs of women who have an abortion at Planned Parenthood.

Finally, Planned Parenthood can be easily condemned from a healthcare perspective because they attempt to deny the humanity of the baby with women considering abortion (not to do so would negatively impact their profit margin) and are forced to continue to use scientifically inaccurate descriptions of the fetus and unborn child as a “product of conception”, “glob of cells’ or “mass of protoplasm’, even at later gestational ages. Such terms contradict basic, foundational definitions and terminology established and used by the scientific and medical fields. Planned Parenthood also acts in direct opposition to the basic understanding of the medical community of the right to healthcare by even the tiniest of patients, whether they be in utero or already born. Advancements in modern medicine, including using ultrasound technology to perform in-utero surgery to correct heart, brain, and lung defects (along with the proper administration of pain medication to these tiny patients) stand in contrast to the practices that Planned Parenthood attempt to classify as “healthcare.” These types of practices are oppositional to modern, professional medical care and can be used to impact the consumer decisions made by abortion-vulnerable women.

Building the Pregnancy Help Center Brand

The respondents were unaware of the idea of the Pregnancy Help Center, although occasionally referenced government health clinics as an alternative to Planned Parenthood. While the lack of awareness of the PHCs is tragic in one respect, it also presents the Pregnancy Help Centers across the country an opportunity to re-brand and define the services they provide without an impediment of existing negative media coverage. Given that Pregnancy Help Centers all have different names and Planned Parenthood has only one name, the competition with Planned Parenthood is challenging.

The study revealed what women want in the type of services upon discovering an unwanted pregnancy. The marketing of Pregnancy Help Centers is less about the name of the organization, but branding their identity surrounding the services they provide. The universal application of these critical services would measurably enhance the branding and marketing of the estimated 2400 Pregnancy Help Centers across the country. It was immensely revealing to discover that the customers of Planned Parenthood are most troubled by the waiting room practices of Planned Parenthood demonstrated by the long waits, non-confidential medical conversations, and the fear of contacting diseases from the “people from the street” who are frequent customers of Planned Parenthood. One of the most universal comments about the Planned Parenthood experience, from a vast majority of respondents, even those rating themselves as “highly satisfied” with Planned Parenthood, was the difficult waiting room conditions, especially the long waits, but also the “nervous,” “scared”, “angry” and “frustrated” emotional experience and atmosphere of the waiting room.

It was further discovered that Planned Parenthood’s customer treatment is measurably different for women having an abortion and women seeking birth control. Women wanting to procure an abortion were treated rudely, laughed at, and chastised. In other studies, it was discovered that women who are advocates of abortion find it unacceptable for women to have multiple abortions and use abortion for birth control. It is ironic because not being judged is a marketing advantage of Planned Parenthood. The study revealed that Pregnancy Help Centers have overlooked the legacy customer as an influencer of the younger sister or friend that they bring to Planned Parenthood. The most effective approach would be to not address the immorality of abortion but to address the poor consumer practices and customer relations of Planned Parenthood.

Pregnancy Help Centers should focus on providing emotional well-being to the total person which Planned Parenthood clearly does not. It was discovered that having an abundance of helpful pamphlets readily available that address a wide variety of women’s needs would connote a vast array of services provided by a Pregnancy Help Center.

The Impact of People Outside the Abortion Facility

Studies have shown that people who pray, counsel, and hold signs outside of abortion facilities do have a measurable effect in diverting women from entering an abortion facility and they also promote public awareness. However, from the perspective of women who enter the abortion facility, the response is significantly different, particularly towards the people who are seen as “protestors” and who may be yelling at them. Unfortunately, this is a major psychological impact and marketing advantage for Planned Parenthood. Women going to an abortion facility sometimes report feeling “judged” by those outside and turn toward Planned Parenthood as if it were “a sanctuary” with safety from bodily harm from the “protesters,” an idea which is confirmed, and likely, often planted by the abortionists and Planned Parenthood staff. The women are already feeling stressful with what is about to occur in the abortion facility and with assistance from abortion clinic personnel, the guilt and stress are transferred to the pro-life people outside. Vitae market analysts suggest repositioning what could be seen, from the pregnant woman’s point of view, as “protest activity” from that of demonstrating/protesting/yelling at the woman to helping the mother by eliminating the reasons she thinks she needs an abortion (through sidewalk counseling). The re-posturing of helping, along with people engaged in silent prayer, could measurably diffuse the sanctuary niche that the abortion facility owns and save more babies.

Chemical Abortion

Among the respondents, chemical abortion does not fulfill for many women an easier or natural procedure. For women in the study, the decision as to which type of abortion to choose was multi-faceted and seemingly based on personal feelings towards surgery, anesthesia, recovery time, pain involved, opportunity to hide the procedure, cost and the age and development of the baby. It does not appear Planned Parenthood personnel heavily market one abortion procedure over another. Not surprisingly, none of the respondents indicated that they were advised of the chemical abortion reversal process. Respondents indicate that, despite frequent complications, aftercare from the abortion pill was measurably lacking. There are numerous consumer issues that could be exploited.

Recommendations:

Discrediting the Planned Parenthood Brand

The most effective way to discredit the Planned Parenthood brand is a multi-tiered approach: (1) Chipping away at the economic base through more effective marketing of Pregnancy Help Centers to attract the same customers. This effort will require a major re-branding of Pregnancy Help Centers across the country. (2) Shifting the public discussion about Planned Parenthood to one of consumer concerns, especially focused on the discrepancy between professional healthcare definitions and practices and what happens at Planned Parenthood. (3) Bringing together the many different components of the pro-life effort to reach a consistent message that most importantly connects with the legacy customer who is a key source of Planned Parenthood’s first-time customers. Specific recommendations:

A total assault on Planned Parenthood as the icon of cultural evil will be very difficult. It would be far better to chip away where the loyalty brand is the strongest and do it with themes of consumerism and concern for the woman’s mental and emotional health.
Themes of consumerism will also work extensively on the general public; however, an attack on Planned Parenthood without a companion alternative availability of services will lay open the criticism that all we are interested in is the “fetus.”
Address Planned Parenthood with doubt and challenge. Challenge Planned Parenthood to show women the ultrasound so she can see what will happen to her body rather than using it to only determine the size of the baby and thus the price of the abortion.
The sex trafficking industry needs the assistance of Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry to provide birth control and abortion since the trafficked women cannot be pregnant. If she is, money is lost. Here is another opportunity to challenge Planned Parenthood.

Countering the Healthcare Message

The marketing themes of abortion advocates change every fifteen to twenty years. The most recent change was a shift from “choice” to “healthcare.” Vitae market analysts expect it will change to a “woman’s duty to have an abortion in the next twenty years. In addition, the negative attacks on Planned Parenthood’s brand require a new message — one more palatable to the American people that disguises that they are the largest abortion provider in the country.

Planned Parenthood does not follow the best practices of the healthcare profession that today focuses on whole person health. Planned Parenthood totally ignores the emotional health and well-being of their abortion customers with poor or no pre- or post-abortion counseling. In addition, they do not address the social needs of their abortion customers. They merely cause them to be un-pregnant. The women then go back to a social dynamic of risky behavior and dangerous social environments. These issues can be clearly levied in marketing strategies against Planned Parenthood through the banner of consumerism and failure to meet the emotional and social needs of women who obtain abortions.

A particularly focused target market should be the legacy customer of Planned Parenthood as they generally are no longer patients who use Planned Parenthood for medical services because of reasons revolving around poor customer and medical treatment. Marketing to this target audience could be addressed from the right side of the brain where a young sister or friend would not receive adequate healthcare. Specific recommendations:

Show that Planned Parenthood harms a woman’s emotional wellbeing.
Planned Parenthood only makes a woman un-pregnant and sends her back to a dysfunctional social environment.
Planned Parenthood does not follow the current healthcare “best practices.”
Abortion does not cure a disease or treat an illness.
Widespread mental, social, emotional, spiritual, and ethical complications result from abortion. Physical complications occur as well; breast cancer is a potential message but requires a unique approach.

Building the Pregnancy Help Center (PHC) Brand

The study revealed that customers coming to Planned Parenthood are referred or who refer women to Planned Parenthood are unaware of abortion alternative services such as Pregnancy Help Centers in their communities. While this is troubling, it is also an opportunity to begin building a positive brand for the Pregnancy Help Centers in communities throughout the country. This will save unborn children and begin discrediting the Planned Parenthood brand.

The Pregnancy Help Centers should focus on the social needs of women as well as the emotional needs, two critical components of the best practices for medical professionals today. In a state of emotional chaos, it is easy for women considering abortion to believe they have no friends or help. The least obstacle becomes a reason for an abortion. Pregnancy Help Centers can provide a wealth of assistance in their communities, and this is a niche that many women would find attractive. Planned Parenthood will never provide these services, and Pregnancy Help Centers can gain tremendous positive community awareness. In addition, Pregnancy Help Centers should build a brand around the needs of the whole person. It seems critical that Pregnancy Help Centers are not likely to offer medical care, however, referrals to medical care can easily be part of a promotional package building closely to whole person health approach. Specific recommendations:

The age group defined in the survey as “legacy customers” offers Pregnancy Help Centers a specific and unique lucrative market as they are the ones responsible for recommending that their younger sisters and friends go to Planned Parenthood. This is the age group approximately 25 to 45.
Messages to this audience are best built around the consumer message in the public service announcement image. Planned Parenthood loses brand strength once women get older, have insurance, and access to their own gynecologist/doctor’s office. Approach Planned Parenthood as a comparison of services. Themes such as safety, dangerous side effects, and improper care as a consumer warning would be effective.
Offer a message for a second opinion. Focus messaging around the change in the holistic, healthy, and happy self to the grief and despondent self.
Hispanic women are particularly driven by the shame of promiscuous sexual behavior. Offering them a loving family experience and assurance that they will be all right and their families will still love them will be effective.
Market around the assistance offered by way of jobs, education, childcare, removing the reasons given for needing an abortion.
Think of this as care for women. Provide extensive educational literature for young women connoting extensive services that are offered and referrals.
Make certain that the waiting room is inviting and warm in contrast to the cold and crowded Planned Parenthood waiting room.
Waiting for services should be minimal or non-existent.
Rebrand the PHC to include total care, unbiased counseling.
A PHC uses modern medical advances to show women what will happen to their bodies before abortion, and Planned Parenthood does not.
A PHC does not charge for services.

Re-posturing Those Outside the Abortion Facility

Women having abortions have tremendous fear and shame before the procedure. In the process of passing through the people outside the abortion facility, they transfer the blame to the people they see as judgmental rather than placing it on Planned Parenthood or themselves. They see Planned Parenthood as a place of acceptance rather than one of judgment and condemnation. Based on the study, it is recommended that instead of signs focusing on aborted babies, the better approach would be signs offering free ultrasounds and medical care at the nearby PHC or mobile unit, assistance to find jobs, make a car payment, or other practical support. Other recommendations:

Re-posture the reason you are on the street to help her to meet her needs, perhaps money for rent, car payment, etc. Offer her help to carry to term.
Encourage her to seek a second opinion as she may not even be pregnant due to natural miscarriages. Help her secure that second opinion utilizing an ultrasound van onsite.
Silent, prayerful witnesses would be somewhat removed from the entrance, making sure to maintain a positive, calm, professional appearance and demeanor, with any signs reflecting the same approach.
Don’t scare her into the abortion clinic.

Chemical Abortion Promotion

Planned Parenthood is vulnerable with chemical abortion because women have to see and dispose of her aborted baby, and there are more complications associated with this procedure. Respondents in the study who had chemical abortions mentioned the problems they had post-abortion and the difficulty getting Planned Parenthood to respond with adequate medical care. They were often referred to the ER for follow-up, even in the case of serious hemorrhaging and complications. It’s time to ask questions and cause doubt:

Are women fully informed of the dangers both physically and mentally?
Shift the debate from constitutional issues to women’s health (physical and emotional) using the dangers of chemical abortions.

For those in the pro-life movement who want to understand and support women struggling with an unplanned pregnancy, an understanding of the emotional landscape of women facing this situation is essential. It is hoped that the insights uncovered in this summary can aid in pro-life efforts around the world.