Part of the pro-life crowd at Monday’s rally [Photo by Eric Scheidler]
The Susan B. Anthony List’s Defund Planned Parenthood tour kicked off yesterday and one of their first stops was Geneva, Illinois outside the offices of pro-life Representative Randy Hultgren. The League was pleased to contribute to the rally by providing speakers and getting out our stalwart corps of grassroots activists.
When Planned Parenthood got wind of SBA’s bus tour, which features Live Action‘s Lila Rose, former congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave and local women speaking out against Planned Parenthood, they realized they had a serious problem on their hands and hastily planned a counter-tour which they called the “Planned Parenthood Truth Tour.” Hmm . . . where have I heard that name before? Read past the break for news coverage and a slideshow of photos from the rally!
Planned Parenthood Protects their Bottom Line with YOUR Tax Dollars
Planned Parenthood’s big pink bus [Photo by Eric Scheidler]
Planned Parenthood put their giant money-machine into motion and got a giant pink bus painted with the number services they perform every year.
Where did they get the money for such an expensive, last minute purchase? Well, since 1/3 of their funding comes from us taxpayers, I’d guess about 1/3 of it came from our pocket. They’re on a crusade to keep our money to support their abortion business, and they’re using our money to fund their crusade!
Conspicuously absent from the numbers on the big pink bus was the number of abortions they perform each year. That number, and the word abortion itself, was also absent from their rally, which they planned an hour before the SBA rally was scheduled to start.
League Executive Director Eric Scheidler and I drove by Planned Parenthood’s Aurora mega-center on our way to the rally and found it a ghost town. Apparently they had to empty out their sizable staff in order to have enough bodies. I also called Planned Parenthood’s Chicago office and found that a large contingent of their staff had left aboard the bus earlier in the afternoon.
Pro-Lifers Show the REAL Truth
Pro-lifers show PP’s supporters the real face of “choice” [Photo by Matt Yonke]
But pro-lifers were not about to let Planned Parenthood sweep abortion under the rug.
A group of pro-life young people arrived on the scene about halfway through Planned Parenthood’s rally and brandished graphic abortion photos and signs reading, Planned Parenthood LIES to You and Stop Abortion Now. They held their signs aloft and led the gathering pro-lifers in chants of “Life, YES, Abortion NO!”
After about a half hour, Planned Parenthood closed out their rally and headed back to their offices just in time for the pro-life rally to start.
The Real Grassroots Support Pro-Life
Lila Rose addresses the crowd [Photo by Eric Scheidler]
The crowd, now numbering around 200, gathered to hear from the League’s Ann Scheidler along with Rose and Musgrave. Representing our local Pregnancy Resource Centers were Kelly Gorsky of Waterleaf Women’s Center and Susan Lisowski of Woman’s Choice Services. It was great to have such a diverse group of women speaking out against Planned Parenthood, from activists like Ann and Lila, to politicians like Musgrave, PRC workers who offer alternatives to Planned Parenthood and local pro-life women.
At the close of the rally, the huge group gathered for a group photo and gave the Defund Planned Parenthood a warm send-off.
Your Chance to Join the Tour!
The tour is still going until March 10 with stops in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, so be sure to check the SBA website for specific locations. If you are anywhere near any of the stops, please make it a priority to get out there and show the world that you are sick of your tax dollars supporting Planned Parenthood. Pro-life has the grassroots, but the media won’t know that unless you show them.
Keep up with the tour as it travels to more key congressional districts on SBA’s Suzy B Blog.
Additional Links
News Coverage
- Hultgren’s Office Center of Planned Parenthood Funding Dispute—Chicago Sun Times
- Pro-life, pro-choice advocates clash at Hultgren’s office in Geneva—Daily Herald
- Illinois Review Interviews Planned Parenthood Supporters—Illinois Review
- Dueling Pro-Life/Pro-Death Bus Tours Face Off—JillStanek.com
- Dueling Tours: First Photos of Pro-Life/Planned Parenthood Rally (+CatholicVote members sighting!)—CatholicVote.com
