Pro-Lifers Protest Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards’ Speech on “Leading Under Pressure”

National   |   Matt Yonke   |   Oct 15, 2015   |   12:00PM   |   Chicago, IL

Late last week, we here at the Pro-Life Action League received a tip that Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards would be speaking at Chicago Ideas Week, a weeklong series of talks from leaders in a variety of fields.

Richards was speaking on a panel titled “Leading Under Pressure” along with four other leaders who have had to face various kinds of challenges and setbacks, including retired four-star general David Petraeus.

We knew right away that we weren’t going to let the president of Abortion Incorporated visit Chicago without a protest, so we set the wheels in motion right away.

New signs were printed up reading, “Cecile Richards: Abortion is always a BAD idea” which were attached to larger signs with photos of the victims of Planned Parenthood’s deadly business.

It was challenging to recruit volunteers to hold signs at 3:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, so we were thrilled that a crowd of over 25 faithful pro-lifers showed up ready to confront Richards and her supporters.

Much to our surprise, on the morning of the protest, Richards made a huge announcement that Planned Parenthood would no longer accept compensation for their “tissue donation” programs. The move showed Planned Parenthood is on the defensive, and further shows how badly Cecile Richards misunderstands why the American people were outraged about the body parts scandal in the first place.

League Executive Director Eric Scheidler had this to say about the change:

Planned Parenthood is clearly worried they may lose their massive taxpayer subsidy. Nothing else would prompt them to give up the profits from selling aborted baby body parts. Cecile Richards just doesn’t get it.

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What has horrified people, and prompted nationwide protests, isn’t that Planned Parenthood might profit from the sale of fetal tissue, but that they are harvesting body parts from human beings they’ve killed—and joking about it.

Though some of the attendees laughed at or mocked the protest, and a few yelled or made obscene gestures, many were curious, took flyers and thanked us for our presence. Chicago police, as usual, protected our First Amendment rights and were very courteous.

I’m sure many of those attending the talk didn’t know who Cecile Richards was before last night. They do now.

LifeNews Note: Matt Yonke writes for the Pro-Life Action League.

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