If all goes according to plan, Hillary Clinton will show up at fancy shindig in New York City next Tuesday night and receive a new title: “Champion of the Century,” per Planned Parenthood’s “100 Years Strong” centennial celebration. That’s a pretty big coup, considering the competition.

Surely California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was in the running for the champion designation. Just last month he filed 15 felony charges against David Daleiden, the guy who made those recordings that exposed Planned Parenthood’s connection to the fetal tissue trade. (Odd how hours of video confirming that baby body parts were merchandised end up condemning the videographer rather than the sellers, isn’t it?)   

What about officials at Pennsylvania’s Department of Health, the ones who until 2011 didn’t think abortion clinics like Kermit Gosnell’s were worth regulating? Planned Parenthood probably enjoyed an unencumbered ride in that state, too.   

Then there are culture shapers like Ann Landers, Abigail Van Buren, and Phil Donahue, who used their platforms to make abortion mainstream. If gala organizers had looked even further back, they might have considered actress Katharine Hepburn, who maintained abortions were necessary “unless women are going to be absolute slaves.” Hepburn’s mother, in fact, worked with Margaret Sanger to found Planned Parenthood.

(Test time: Who was Margaret Sanger?)

It’s OK if you don’t know. Planned Parenthood counts on most of us being low-information citizens. They expect us to forget that Margaret Sanger was an avowed eugenicist. (That’s someone who believes the human race can be improved by controlling who can reproduce.) They are so confident in that expectation that they have been giving out annual Margaret Sanger Awards, their highest honor, since 1966. Hillary Clinton won one in 2009.

And now she is to be lauded again.

Planned Parenthood’s press release for Tuesday’s event commends Clinton for her “40 years of service to women and girls in this country.” While those services should be fact-checked, one thing is for certain: Clinton has been a consistent champion of abortion. Just last year, she helped author the most pro-abortion political platform in U.S. history.

As a result, Planned Parenthood donated nearly $38 million to democratic campaigns like Clinton’s in 2016, and the love went both ways. In the last debate of the presidential election, Clinton stated, “I will defend Planned Parenthood. I will defend Roe v. Wade,” when moderator Chris Wallace asked her how far the right to an abortion goes.

Wallace: “You have been quoted as saying that the fetus has no constitutional rights. You also voted against a ban on late-term, partial-birth abortions. Why?”

Clinton (after underscoring a mother’s health and other clauses): “I do not think the United States government should be stepping in and making those most personal of decisions.”   

The National Register later blasted Clinton’s assertion: “There is no ‘health condition’ a mother could have that requires her to half deliver her child so it can be injected with poison that stops its heart from beating.”

So while Clinton gets her just deserts next Tuesday, I would like to highlight a counter-champion — Jeanine Mote. Both she and Clinton contend for women and girls, but on different sides of the fence. Mote, 45, has led the Crisis Pregnancy Center of Southwest Mississippi as executive director since 2004. With a mission statement that includes words like hope, compassionate, and life-affirming, she and her team attempt to make a dent in the unplanned pregnancy problem plaguing communities.

What problem, you ask?

Consider 24 pregnant students at one local high school last year.

The Crisis Pregnancy Center, operating at 647 Delaware Avenue in McComb, offers a range of services, from abstinence education to parenting classes. “Our goal is to impact our community and advance the kingdom of God. We want to help young people make better choices. We also want to bring hope and healing to those who haven’t made the best choice,” says Mote.

That goal translates into abortion alternative counseling, adoption referrals, a Mommy & Me program, marriage seminars, and GED opportunities. One of their most effective efforts is a boutique where participants shop for baby items using paper “baby bucks.”

“They earn them various ways,” explains Mote. “Watching parenting videos, bringing the father to class, reading educational books, joining a Bible study, being on time.”

Another big difference between the two champions and the organizations they support: funding.

In its most recent annual report, Planned Parenthood said it received a whopping $553.7 million in “government health services grants and reimbursements.”

The Crisis Pregnancy Center, in contrast, is completely privately funded, and their services are free.

Kim Henderson is a freelance writer. Contact her at kimhenderson319@gmail.com.