Luann Bloom holds a second trimester abortion sign outside the Ritz Carlton, Chicago [Photo by Sam Scheidler]
For the past 29 years, one of the key aspects of the Pro-Life Action League’s mission has been to confront the abortionsts and expose the grisly nature of their business.
On March 6, the League was there to do just that as Planned Parenthood gathered to celebrate the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade with their “Freedom Friday” fundraiser at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Chicago.
The brisk early spring evening provided excellent weather for a protest. Pro-lifers gathered near the corner of Michigan Avenue and Pearson Street at 5:30, just before Planned Parenthood’s guests were beginning to arrive.
Ritz Surrounded by the Truth About Abortion
The League’s Eric Scheidler sent the first wave of protesters with second trimester abortion signs, showing the body of baby Malachi, killed at 21 weeks gestation in his mother’s womb. These signs were posted just outside the front entrance to the Ritz where guests using the hotel’s valet parking service couldn’t miss them.
Joe Scheidler set up across the street from the Ritz with a huge sign reading “Planned Parenhood Kills Babies” with first-time protester Joseph O’Conner.
Joe Scheidler and Joseph O’Conner show Planned Parenthood’s supporters what they really do. [Photo by Sam Scheidler]
Baby Malachi and first trimester abortion signs were set up all along Pearson Street and onto Michigan Avenue. A picket line was formed on Pearson with signs reading “Stop Abortion Now,” “Planned Parenthood Kills Babies” and “Planned Parenthood LIES to You.”
Along Michigan Avenue, volunteers passed out literature explaining to throngs of passersby why we were protesting Planned Parenthood.
The literature also informed the recipients about HB 2354 that Planned Parenhood has been pushing across Illinois. This bill, ineptly named the “Reproductive Justic and Access Act,” is a pernicious new piece of legislation in the Illinois General Assembly that is essentially the Illinois version of FOCA, the so-called Freedom of Choice Act.
Finally, pro-lifers set up signs alongside the entrance to the Ritz parking garage. This way, no matter how Planned Parenthood’s supporters arrived, by valet parking, self-parking or on foot, they couldn’t help but see the gruesome truth about the organization they were donating to.
League Harrassed by Building Staff, Passersby
As league staffers positioned volunteers with their signs, security agents for the Ritz, the Drury Lane Theatre, and the John Hancock building all insisted that pro-lifers leave their property, which in all cases was claimed to cover the entire length of the sidewalk—meaning there was no public property outside the buildings on which protesters could stand.
Eric Scheidler thanks the crowd at the end of the protest. [Photo by Sam Scheidler]
One passerby who claimed to be a lawyer harrassed volunteers handing out literature. He repeatedly snatched literature out of the volunteers’ hands, ripped it up and threw it on the ground, claiming that the peaceful protest was somehow illegal.
When another passerby told him to move on the man snarled that he was a lawyer and knew the rules. But he did move on, hurling epithets at pro-lifers as he passed by. To one volunteer holding a sign with a picture of Our Lord Jesus Christ he stopped and barked, “How dare you bring HIM into this!”
After Planned Parenthood’s guests had arrived, the pro-lifers gathered for a final prayer. Joe Scheidler thanked the protesters, telling them they had fulfilled their Lenten obligation for the day by the courageous stand they took for Our Lord’s precious little ones. Together the pro-lifers prayed and sang a verse of “Amazing Grace”.
Thanks to the more than 50 pro-lifers who sacrificed their Friday evening to show Planned Parenthood and their supporters the truth about abortion.
