Last month, when the Kentucky Science Center held a health and wellness event for 8- to 13-year-old public school students, the abortion provider saw an opportunity to give out sexually explicit coloring books to young children.
Artistic depictions of male and female genitals, as well as pill dispensers, were in the adult coloring and activity book. It also contained a section called "Sexlibs," a spin on the popular children's word game "Mad Libs," in which the reader was invited to write in adjectives to describe condoms and sexual experiences.
The museum reportedly asked Planned Parenthood to send the materials they were bringing beforehand, but that request was not met. Planned Parenthood then showed up for the event an hour and a half late, making it difficult for the museum to vet the materials before they were distributed.
Planned Parenthood initially denied handing out the coloring book, saying claims suggesting otherwise were false and an attempt to stir outrage. It later walked that back, though, issuing an apology and saying the company is reviewing its own internal protocols.
Nick Spencer, director of public policy for The Family Foundation in Kentucky, is not buying it.
"They had to know what they were bringing, and they had to know what sort of audience was going to be there," he asserts. "I don't think that this is just some sort of silly mishap. No, this falls right in line with Planned Parenthood's business model of getting young people hooked on sexual immorality early in life so that they can continue to profit off of the destructive consequences that happen from these sorts of behaviors."
He calls Planned Parenthood's action "egregious" and likens this incident to the curriculum Planned Parenthood provides for health classes in schools across the country.
His organization has joined the nationwide chorus in calling for the federal government to remove Planned Parenthood's taxpayer funding.
"This is just another example of why that sort of move is so incredibly important," says Spencer. "These young children are at an age where they're very impressionable, where any topic that would have been seen in this coloring book needs to be coming from parents."
He wonders why Planned Parenthood even has such an explicit coloring book and submits, "There's no reason to be printing these things."
The Kentucky Science Center is taking steps to ensure all materials distributed at its future events are thoroughly reviewed in advance, according to the museum's apology posted on Facebook March 26. Planned Parenthood is no longer welcome on its premises
