Remember the slogan, “Johnson & Johnson…The Family Company”?  Who hasn’t trusted precious eyes with the “No More Tears” brand baby shampoo or tender skin with “Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder”?   If you visit Johnson & Johnson’s website, you will see their personified image of a “wholesome and philanthropically-oriented company".  View "The First Moments of Life", their touching video demonstrating their dedication to helping newborn babies and preventing death from birth asphyxia.

Johnson & Johnson (“JNJ”) has been sending mixed messages to its consumers that many of us miss daily.  Hidden within one of JNJ’s subsidiaries is the abortifacient manufacturer Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc.  Until recently, Ortho-McNeil manufactured the “Emergency Contraceptive Pill", PREVEN.  Currently, they are focusing on several other types of contraceptives readily available to the public, including progestin-only pills, combination pills, a contraceptive patch, an intrauterine device and a diaphragm.  While the pills prevent pregnancy in a relatively safe and effective manner, it is the method in which they do it that raises moral concerns.  Birth control pills have three levels of built-in prevention.  They inhibit ovulation, they inhibit the transport of the sperm through the cervix, and/or they thin and shrivel the lining of the uterus making it less able to facilitate the implantation of a newly fertilized egg.  If you believe that life begins at conception, the third method destroys a life and is ultimately a form of abortion. 

Dig a little deeper into their corporate website, and you will find JNJ’s award winning family and parenting site "BabyCenter”.  You will find many informative articles to help women care for their newborn.  Not quite ready for a newborn?  No problem, JNJ has a helpful guide on emergency contraception, you can learn the different recipes to help you create your own ECPs or find out where to buy their once competitor “Plan B".  Currently, “Plan B” is the progestin-only pill specifically marketed for emergency contraception, though some U.S. pharmacies, including Wal-Mart, refused to carry it.

In addition to being actively involved in the business of abortion, JNJ is also a top advertiser for anti-family programming, sponsoring shows like Two and a Half Men, Gossip Girl, 90210 and One Tree Hill, as well as supporting and promoting the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-gender movement.

So, the next time you are in a retail store shopping for your everyday products or reviewing your monthly investment portfolio(s), consider where your dollars are going.  Speak out, silence is never heard.  Send “The Family Company” a message that you would like them to truly be a “family” company.