The results are in from last Saturday’s First Annual Day of Protest at Planned Parenthood and they are encouraging. Despite hostile media coverage of efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, thousands of people showed up all across the country to be a visible force in the battle against PP. According to published reports, one out of every three Planned Parenthood centers in the United States had an active protest outside its doors last Saturday.
A report published in the Rhode Island Catholic on the protest in Providence included the following quote, which demonstrates the growing battle against the public funding of Planned Parenthood. Genevieve Kineke, author of “The Feminine Genius” column, addressed the crowd and said:
Nationwide a groundswell of support has linked people of all faiths and of no faith, all of who realize that a life is a life, is a life. . . . Some call it sacred, some simply human, all call it a person worthy of respect, of dignity of value. Honest people of no faith, who with tremendous sincerity, sift through the scientific evidence which reveals without a doubt the humanity of the unborn child and legitimate needs of mothers in crisis refuse to financially support an entity that politicizes the evidence and ignores scientific facts. Even they insist that Planned Parenthood deserves not one penny.
Pro-lifers in Miami, Florida, will gather tomorrow, April 30, outside the doors of the now-closed abortion facility at 6660 SW 117th Avenue. Pro-lifers have prayed and sidewalk counseled outside this facility for 10 years. There have been numerous 40 Days for Life campaigns at the facility. The abortion facility quietly stopped committing abortions three weeks ago. Pro-lifers have scheduled one last peaceful, prayerful event. It is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m., with prayers led by Archbishop Thomas Wenski. We have received word that some pro-lifers will travel from other areas of Florida just to join in the prayerful celebration of the closing of this place of death for so many preborn children.
In news from Congress, during the House Armed Services Committee markup of the FY17 National Defense Authorization Act, a pro-abortion amendment was offered and defeated. Current Department of Defense policy prohibits elective abortion at DOD medical facilities and does not permit taxpayer funding for abortions. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) offered an amendment that would change current law to allow abortion on demand at DOD medical facilities. Note: Speier argued the abortions would be paid for using “private funds,” ignoring the fact that the amendment would require transforming DOD medical facilities into abortion centers. The amendment failed 25-37. Two Democrats (Langevin, Bordallo) joined all Republicans present in voting against the amendment (MacArthur was absent). You may be interested in the following video clips of Reps. John Fleming (R-LA), Trent Franks (R-AZ), and Steve Russell (R-OK) speaking against the Speier amendment.