Girl Scouts' support for abortion-rights advocates, including Democratic Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis, has caused angry anti-abortion groups to launch a cookie boycott, the Associated Press reported.
The groups have taken issue with tweets and Facebook postings that link to articles recognizing Davis, who shot to political stardom last year with a filibuster of abortion limits, and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, another Democrat who supports abortion rights.
"It's very clear that they are not citing any pro-life leaders with any praise, even though their official stand is they are not taking any position on abortion," said John Pisciotta, director of Pro-Life Waco and organizer of the so-called CookieCott 2014.
Endorsing politicians and taking stands on political issues is not something that the Girl Scouts do, spokeswoman Kelly Parisi said on Tuesday.
In order to encourage people and get them more involved in discussions about the top newsmakers of 2013, which many people were referring to as the year of women, the posts were made, Parisi said.
"We think it is appropriate for us to encourage conversation about what makes a female leader," she said.
According to the AP, "One tweet from the Girl Scouts of the USA asked for nominees for woman of the year and linked to a Huffington Post discussion on the subject in which Davis was mentioned prominently."
Another link to Washington Post's list of influential women that included Sebelius was also posted on the organization's Facebook page.
"Why link it? Why not just ask who inspired you this year?" said Ann Saladin, a conservative activist and former Girl Scout who lives in St. Louis.
Saladin and others have helped promote the boycott, and groups including Pro-Life Wisconsin are encouraging their members to participate, the AP reported.
After the local Girl Scouts council recognized the leader of the local Planned Parenthood chapter for her achievements, Pisciotta organized a 2004 boycott of cookie sales in Waco, the AP reported.
It helped give the council its best year for cookie sales, said Lucia Weinmeister, spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of Central Texas.
"It does fire up people who are against what we do, or what they think we do," she said. "It also fires up our strongest supporters."
