By Rebecca Fiedler
Staff Writer
Pro-life Waco is boycotting the purchase of Girl Scout cookies in response to a Tweet from the Girl Scouts of the USA. The Tweet provides a link to the Huffington Post’s Women of the Year 2013 list, which honors politician Wendy Davis, known for her work to block abortion regulations in the Texas Senate.
The boycott, which began Thursday, has been named “Cookiecott” and is being Tweeted as #Cookicott. Pro-life Waco director John Pisciotta said the boycott will last two to three weeks.
The Girl Scouts of the USA released an apology on its website on Tuesday.
“In December of 2013, Girl Scouts of the USA shared an auto-populated tweet, asking our social media audience to share their opinions about who should have been recognized in a discussion about 2013’s noteworthy women,” the apology states. “While our intentions were good, many of our followers and the public at large raised concerns about the content they were driven to via our social channels. We listened, and would like to take a moment to sincerely apologize to anyone we have offended. We are truly sorry.”
The Girl Scouts of the USA deny having any stance on the issue of abortion and claim no current affiliation with Planned Parenthood.
“Girl Scouts of the USA does not take a position or develop materials on human sexuality, birth control or abortion,” the Girl Scouts’ website states. “We feel our role is to help girls develop self-confidence and good decision-making skills that will help them make wise choices in all areas of their lives.”
Pisciotta said his impression of the Girl Scouts’ past actions makes him feel they support individuals and causes that are pro-choice.
“In and of itself, if the Wendy Davis thing was all there was, there would be no boycott,” Pisciotta said. “But it’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much more than that.”
Pro-life Waco had a “cookiecott” in 2004 in response to actions of the Bluebonnet Girl Scout Council, which was at that time headquartered in Waco. Pro-life Waco accused the local Girl Scout council of supporting literature, education and people whose stances on sexuality Pro-life Waco disagrees with.
“For nine years, the Bluebonnet Council had co-sponsored the Nobody’s Fool summer sex education program,” Pro-life Waco’s website said. “This event is offered to Waco-area teens and pre-teens by Planned Parenthood Waco.”
Pro-life Waco’s website provides a link to Cookiecott.com, which accuses the Girl Scouts of the USA of having relationships with pro-abortion advocates.
