This past spring, the Pro-Life Action League played an important role in the nationwide effort to strip Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers of federal funding during the budget negotiations on Capitol Hill. Of course, we joined other pro-life groups in mobilizing phone calls to our Representatives and Senators. But we also brought our dynamic brand of grassroots activism to the effort:
- Conducted a counter-protest February 25 of a Planned Parenthood rally and press conference at Chicago’s Federal Plaza.
- Provided pro-life groups across the country with an eye-catching flyer [PDF] that exposes Planned Parenthood’s shameful history of deceiving the public, especially about abortion.
- Partnered with the Susan B. Anthony List and Lila Rose’s Live Action for a rally in support of pro-life Congressmen in Geneva, Illinois—making it the banner stop on the nationwide Expose Planned Parenthood bus tour.
- Collaborated with Stand True Ministries and CatholicVote.org in a social media campaign to scuttle Planned Parenthood’s propaganda efforts by creatively photoshopping their ugly pink “Peptobus.”
- Debated NARAL’s Nancy Keenan on NPR about health insurance coverage of abortion.
How this issue dominated the budget talks and the media was a significant victory, and a public relations nightmare for Planned Parenthood and the abortion lobby. Though Planned Parenthood kept most of their federal funding in this round of budget negotiations and American tax dollars are still paying for some abortions, many states have stepped forward to cut off that funding at the state level.
Moreover, the groundwork has been laid for defunding Planned Parenthood after the next national election when, God willing, pro-lifers take leadership in the Senate and a pro-lifer occupies the White House. And thanks to this year’s campaign, abortion funding is sure to be a major national issue in that election.
