Free donuts...of choice

Anytime tomorrow, stop by your local Krispy Kreme establishment and get yourself a free doughnut - of your choice.

Personally, I'd go for the jelly-filled, but that has nothing to do with the rest of the story.

Apparently the original announcement from Krispy Kreme read like this (according to a Miami New Times article):

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD) is honoring American's sense of pride and freedom of choice on Inauguration Day, by offering a free doughnut of choice to every customer on this historic day, Jan. 20. By doing so, participating Krispy Kreme stores nationwide are making an oath to tasty goodies -- just another reminder of how oh-so-sweet 'free' can be.

Seems innocuous enough, but some groups will take any opportunity for free publicity, so the American Life League, an avowed anti-abortion group, responded with the following press release:

The following is a statement from American Life League president, Judie Brown.

"The next time you stare down a conveyor belt of slow-moving, hot, sugary glazed donuts at your local Krispy Kreme you just might be supporting President-elect Barack Obama's radical support for abortion on demand – including his sweeping promise to sign the Freedom of Choice Act as soon as he steps in the Oval Office, Jan. 20.

The doughnut giant released the following statement yesterday:

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD) is honoring American's sense of pride and freedom of choice on Inauguration Day, by offering a free doughnut of choice to every customer on this historic day, Jan. 20. By doing so, participating Krispy Kreme stores nationwide are making an oath to tasty goodies -- just another reminder of how oh-so-sweet "free" can be.

Just an unfortunate choice of words? For the sake of our Wednesday morning doughnut runs, we hope so. The unfortunate reality of a post Roe v. Wade America is that "choice" is synonymous with abortion access and celebration of 'freedom of choice' is a tacit endorsement of abortion rights on demand.

President-elect Barack Obama promises to be the most virulently pro-abortion president in history. Millions more children will be endangered by his radical abortion agenda.

Celebrating his inauguration with "Freedom of Choice" doughnuts – only two days before the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision to decriminalize abortion – is not only extremely tacky, it's disrespectful and insensitive and makes a mockery of a national tragedy.

A misconstrued concept of "choice" has killed over 50 million preborn children since Jan. 22, 1973. Does Krispy Kreme really want their free doughnuts to celebrate this "freedom.""

As of Thursday morning, Communications Director Brian Little could not be reached for comment. We challenge Krispy Kreme doughnuts to reaffirm their commitment to true freedom – to the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – and to separate themselves and their doughnuts from our great American shame.

And now the Krispy Kreme's announcement reads thusly on this website:

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts’ Inauguration Day promotion on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, is offering one, free doughnut of a customer’s choice at participating Krispy Kreme locations nationwide. No purchase is necessary. The promotion allows customers to commemorate Inauguration Day by selecting one free doughnut of any variety at local participating stores. On Election Day, November 4, 2008, Krispy Kreme ran a promotion that provided customers with one free star-shaped doughnut at stores nationwide. The Inauguration Day promotion is not about any social or political issue.

It does still have the word choice in the announcement, but it does have that final disclaimer in there.

My issue here isn't for or against the right of a woman to have an abortion - that's your business to decide how you feel there - my issue is that I want the debate over this issue (as well as over every other issue) to stick to the actual issue at hand. Don't go looking for conspiracy theories and hidden meanings in every statement that anyone or any corporation makes.

If you see that Consumer Reports says (and I'm making this up here) that the want every consumer armed with the information to make the right choice, don't freak out about them being pro-gun.

If Wired magazine has a note saying that (again, made up by me) they want people to be able to vouch for and trust their information, don't start screaming about their secret agenda to promote school choice.

If someone says "I'm pro choice", scream. It's your business - though I'd rather you engage in a reasoned debate with them instead of calling them a baby killer. But don't go looking for stupid fights where they don't exist.

By the by, my favorite comment on the New Miami Times website:

if they were abortion donuts, i don't think i'd want one. i assume they'd be taking them out of the oven way too early.