Thousands of Provida defenders demonstrated on Saturday in hundreds of towns in the United States as part of a “unique and coordinated protest” to ask the Congress to stop financing the Abortist Organization Planned Parenthood.
The national event, called “Defund Day”(Day to withdraw funds), was headed by the Provida Live Action group. Its founder, Lila Rose, told CNA – Ewtn News in English – that it is the“ largest base effort so far ”to demand the end of federal financing to Planned Parenthood, which received approximately 800 million dollars in money from taxpayers during its last fiscal year.
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“We are leading an effort with more than 200 peaceful manifestations throughout the country, in the 48 states where there are Planned Parenthood clinics. This is a national call to take away funds from the largest abortion chain,” he said.
Citing the hundreds of thousands of abortions that Planned Parenthood performs every year, as well as other extreme services such as the provision of sex change hormones to minors, Rose said: “Congress has an opportunity to cut the funds. They must take advantage of it.”
Photos and videos flooded social networks on Saturday, showing demonstrations throughout the country, in states such as California, Texas, Kentucky and Georgia, with protesters carrying banners and posters demanding that Planned Parenthood be excluded from federal financing.
Rose said that Provida are “closer than ever” of achieving the withdrawal of funds to the Abortist chain: “We have the opportunity with the majority (Republican) in the Chamber and the Senate, and with an administration that has indicated that it would support to withdraw the funds.”
However, he warned that there are still “significant challenges” to achieve that goal, such as the possibility that obstructionism in the Senate blocks any bill in that regard. However, he pointed out that the budget reconciliation process could be used to overcome that obstacle.
If the funds are finally removed, Rose argued that “we must ensure that it is definitive,” not only for a budget year, but permanently.
Looking to the future, he said: “We have to abolish abortion. Withdrawing funds will weaken abortion, but the main objective is the total legal protection for the unborn.”
“We are building a base movement (to abolish abortion). It will take time to develop political infrastructure. But I think we will achieve it within a decade,” he added.
Translated and adapted by ACI Press. Originally published in CNA.
Daniel Payne
Daniel Payne is a senior editor of Catholic News Agency. He previously worked at College Fix and Just the News. He lives in Virginia with his family.