Under the banner of “Women Betrayed,” locals rallied today at noon outside of the Planned Parenthood office on Tustin Avenue in Orange. Protestors called for legislators to investigate and defund the organization in the wake of the release of videos that show a Planned Parenthood physician discussing the sale of fetal body parts from aborted fetuses the organization collects after performing abortions.
The videos, released earlier this month, were taped in an undercover operation in which operatives posed as researchers seeking to acquire fetal tissue for medical research. The video clearly shows a discussion of the market value of body parts for research and how Planned Parenthood could modify its procedures in order to extract a fetus from the womb intact.
A lineup of speakers, from medical professionals to women who believe they have been victimized by Planned Parenthood, took the stage and addressed a crowd of approximately 100, urging that the organization, which received some $1.5 billion in state and federal funding during the three-year period 2010-2012 according to the Government Accountability Office, be defunded.
Mark McElrath, the former president of Catholics at Work Orange County spoke, along with Stephanie Packer, the terminally ill mother who strongly opposed the recently defeated Senate Bill 128. Packer noted in her speech that those turning to abortion need to be loved and cared for in a time of uncertainty.
The Students for Life of America (SFLA) organized several rallies happening at the same time across the United States.
Those gathered on the sidewalk outside the Planned Parenthood property held signs with powerful messages demanding change. Some groups prayed the Rosary, while others sang as passing cars honked at the crowd.