Winds ripped across the vacant lot outside Planned Parenthood Aurora Saturday morning, April 26, making the spring morning feel unseasonably cold. But a chill in the air was not enough to keep the Fox Valley’s pro-life community from coming out in droves to stand up for unborn babies and their mothers.
Pro-Life Rally in Aurora a Huge Success
Over 400 people came out to our “It’s a Matter of Life and Death” rally Saturday to protest the presence of Planned Parenthood in their community. The rally featured a picket line of New York St., a peaceful prayer presence all over the area, and huge displays showing the beauty of life and the horror of abortion.
New York St. was lined with huge pictures of babies, both born and unborn, on the south side and graphic pictures of babies lost to abortion on the north side. These signs presented a jarring contrast that made clear the truth that abortion is the murder of an innocent child. Reactions from passing motorists was mixed. As usual, the pro-choice drivers by and large yelled profanity and gave rude hand gestures while pro-lifers offered blessings and waves.
On Oakhurst Dr. just north of Planned Parenthood a “Cemetery for Choice” was displayed. Tombstones were set up with the names and details of women who have lost their lives to the deadly hands of the abortionist. It was a somber sight to see people walking amongst the tombstones, praying for these women and their babies and for an end to abortion. These tombstones represented only fifty of the hundreds of women who have died due to legal abortion.
Just like every day Planned Parenthood is open, sidewalk counselors were stationed across the street from the facility to try to reach women patronizing Planned Parenthood in the crucial moments before they enter the building, and to offer help and support when they come out.
Pro-Life Activism Akin to the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
The League’s Eric Scheidler spoke to the gathered crowd. After a show of hands of those who were at a rally at Planned Parenthood for the first time, Eric encouraged pro-lifers by reminding them of Jesus’ parable of the workers in the vineyard. Some came early in the day, others came later, but they all did their best and were rewarded by God. In the same way, some have been in the pro-life movement for years, some are just getting involved, but they all came when God called them and will be blessed by God for standing up for His little ones.
The rally ended on a high note with a commemoration of babies who have been saved from abortion. Here at Planned Parenthood Aurora, at least a dozen mothers that we know of have chosen life because of our prayer and counseling presence here, and that’s just a fraction of the babies that have been saved across America by the efforts of pro-life ministries. To celebrate the lives of these babies, pink and blue helium balloons were distributed and pro-lifers tagged their balloons with a name for one of these babies. The balloons were released together in a beautiful display of the joy of life and the success of the pro-life movement.
When Planned Parenthood Aurora first opened its doors, pro-lifers protested their opening in huge numbers. At the time, Planned Parenthood’s Steve Trombley predicted that in a few months, everyone would forget about Planned Parenthood and go back to the normal activities that fill their Saturdays. What Trombley doesn’t understand is that, for him, abortion is a matter of business, but pro-lifers know the truth: Abortion is a Matter of Life and Death. We haven’t gone away yet, and we’re not going anywhere till Planned Parenthood gets out of Aurora.
New York Abortion Facility CLOSED
There’s more encouraging news on the pro-life activism front from our good friend David Bereit, national director of the 40 Days for Life campaign, who reports on the closing of an abortion clinic in Rockland County, NY.
LifeSiteNews reports:
Abortion Services at 200 East Eckerson Road in New City, N.Y., was one of more than 50 clinics across the nation where 40 Days for Life prayer vigils were conducted this spring. “My family and I visited that particular clinic vigil on a snowy night earlier this year,” said Bereit. “My wife and children were photographed alongside a young man who carried a sign reading, ‘Nothing is impossible with God.’ That is certainly the case here. The prayerful efforts of many pro-lifers over the years have won this victory. We are humbled to know that people participating in the 40 Days for Life campaign may have played a role in the peaceful closure of this abortion center.”
Bereit said there are also reports that two Planned Parenthood locations where 40 Days for Life prayer vigils were held have stopped performing abortions. One is in Lincoln, Nebraska and the other is in Council Bluffs, Iowa. In both cases the cessation of abortions was unexpected. “40 Days for Life leaders in both cities are unsure of the reason,” said Bereit, “but they suspect it is because no abortionist is available since both facilities previously shared the same abortionist. We also know that in Lincoln, at least one mother decided against abortion after learning Planned Parenthood was no longer providing them. She took that as a sign from God that her baby was meant to live.”
Activists Show the Truth about Abortion at NAACP Dinner
Pro-life activists were also on hand to greet pro-abortion Rev. Jeremiah Wright when he addressed a gathering of the NAACP Detroit chapter Sunday night.
Jill Stanek reports:
[P]ro-lifers gave the whopping crowd of 10,000 entering the event something else to focus on: abortion and black genocide….
3 black pastors organized the protest, and “there were more blacks participating in the protest than I have ever seen,” wrote Judy. “It was very effective to see them holding the Margaret Sanger quotes and sharing truth.”Judy said that while Detroit police – including many white – have in past years been “belligerent and confrontational” to pro-life protesters at these NAACP dinners, this year they were “friendly and receptive,” even accepting literature.
In fact, pro-lifers distributed thousands of flyers.
Our hats off to these courageous pro-life activists.
