Thousands gather for abortion protest in Houston

Houston, Texas, Jan 19, 2010 / 20:03 pm

On Martin Luther King Day, thousands of people, including nationally renowned pro-life leaders came from across the U.S. to protest the future six-story home of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Houston, Texas.

The building, formerly belonging to a bank and shaped like a cash register, will be transformed into a 78,000 square foot clinic and is expected to be one of the largest in the nation. It will also include a surgical wing capable of providing late-term abortions.

“Planned Parenthood's Houston abortion super center will most likely become the prototype for so-called 'preventative care' centers under President Obama's health care plan,” warned Tony Perkins, Family Research Council President on Monday, speaking on the wider implications of the facility renovation.

“Already, Planned Parenthood is counting the millions, if not billions, of dollars the organization will receive under the current Obama plan,” he charged.

“And that's just federal funding. As the legislation stands now, Planned Parenthood would be considered an 'authorized care provider' by private insurers, which would flood the organization's coffers with even more money regardless of its predatory record against minorities,” Perkins said.

Joining Perkins was Lou Engle of the organization Call to Conscience, Shawn Carney of the Coalition for Life, numerous other pro-life leaders and a multi-racial crowd of protestors.

The rally was held on Martin Luther King Day in honor of the civil rights leader and in protest of what many feel is Planned Parenthood's racially targeted efforts towards minorities.

Lou Engle has previously spoken on his belief that Planned Parenthood has chosen the building as their future site partly because it is surrounded by minority neighborhoods. Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Rochelle Tafolla argued that the site will primarily host office space and provide reproductive services other than abortion.

“Since the facility will be situated near predominately black and Hispanic neighborhoods, it is clear that Planned Parenthood is targeting minority groups,” said Engle in a press release on Jan. 5. “That is why we are gathering minority leaders in Houston and around the country who are grieved, and who are committed to raising awareness and ultimately halting Planned Parenthood's brazen assault on innocent life.”

Many of the protestors wore red duct tape marked with the words “life” over their mouths while they marched, prayed and maintained silence to highlight the fact that the unborn who are killed by abortion have no voice.

Other speakers and attendees of the rally were Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission; Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church; Star Parker, president of the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education as well as Abby Johnson, the former Bryan,Texas Planned Parenthood Director.