American Girl Slammed for Pro-Abortion Ties

NEW YORK – Popular dollmaker American Girl (search) used to be a favorite among conservatives for its dolls' wholesomeness and all-American appeal.

But now, conservative activists are furious that American Girl is raising money for Girls Inc. (search), an organization that supports abortion rights.

"[Girls Inc. is] very clear on their Web site that they believe a woman has the right to choose abortion, and they support the Supreme Court's decision from 1973.

"It's not appropriate for American Girl, which specifically targets and markets to young girls, to be affiliated with any organization which supports the killing of unborn children," said Ann Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League (search).

Conservative groups like the Mississippi-based American Family Association (search) say they'll give American Girl two weeks to sever ties with Girls Inc. — or else they'll call for a boycott of American Girl products and may even picket outside of its New York and Chicago stores.

But Girls Inc., a non-profit organization that promotes girl empowerment and self-esteem, says its programs for girls are completely separate from its lobbying efforts.

"This is all centered around our advocacy statements. Our advocacy statements say that in fact as an organization we support the women's choice, and that is centered around as we see it the rights of women to equal access to education, equal access to financial security. So that is our position as an organization, but it's our advocacy position that we do work in Washington on," said Joyce Roche, president and CEO of Girls Inc.

American Girl, a subsidiary of Mattel (search), said in a statement: "We are profoundly disappointed that certain groups have chosen to misconstrue American Girl's purely altruistic efforts and turn them into a broader political statement on issues that we, as a corporation, have no position."

Click on the video box near the top of this story to see a report by FOX News' Rebecca Gomez.