Protesters hold graphic abortion signs as a NARAL supporter enters the Standard Club [Photo by Matt Yonke]
In the third of four protests of abortion industry parties this year, the Pro-Life Action League hit the streets on October 5 to protest NARAL Pro-Choice America’s “Power of Choice” luncheon at the Standard Club in the heart of downtown Chicago. Their keynote speaker was none other than Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Sebelius, a professed Catholic, is responsible for implementing President Obama’s pro-abortion agenda. Among her attacks on the sanctity of life, she has compelled states to continue funding Planned Parenthood even after voting not to, forced insurers to provide free birth control and assailed the conscience rights of pro-life health care workers.
The League’s protest kicked off at 11 a.m. with over 40 volunteers holding graphic abortion signs, along with picket signs reading, Stop Abortion Now and NARAL: Stop the War on Unborn Women. Those attending the fundraiser were clearly uncomfortable with having to face the reality of what they were there to support. The protest continued until all the guests had entered for the luncheon. We hope some of them will think twice before attending another, knowing that we’ll be there to embarrass them with the truth.
Sebelius Speech Shows League Protest Hit the Mark
Though Sebelius apparently entered through a back way, she knew we were there and mentioned the protest in her speech. “I know that some people were a bit appalled at walking through the demonstrators as you came to this lunch,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “But think about the women who are trying to tap into the health services they desperately need who have to go through that kind of gauntlet in order to access all-too-infrequent services.”
This was, of course, a great distortion of our compassionate pro-life ministry outside abortion clinics, which is nothing like this kind of hard-hitting protest, intended to shame abortion supporters like Sebelius. Moreover, no woman has a “desperate need” for abortion. Abortion is not health care, and what women really need when facing the desperation of an untimely pregnancy is the kind of compassionate assistance provided by pro-life sidealk counselors and pregnancy centers.
However, we were encouraged to learn that our protest struck Sebelius and her audience at the NARAL luncheon with such force that she felt the need to deflect its impact in her speech. In so doing, she unwittingly showed that the power of Truth trumps the “Power of Choice” every time.
