The Planned Parenthood facility in Rochester, Minn. has quit doing RU-486 abortions — referring abortion clients to its mega-abortion facility in St. Paul instead.
Since late 2010, the Rochester PP had been killing unborn children via webcam abortions in which the pregnant woman would take the abortion pill (RU-486) after a long-distance internet conversation with an abortionist (presumably sitting in the St. Paul Planned Parenthood). The highest number of babies killed at the Rochester PP was 80 in 2013. From 2010 through 2015 (the latest year for which statistics are available), 320 babies lost their lives there.
“We are encouraged that the Lord has heard our many prayers and we are thankful that no more babies will die in this facility via RU-486,” said Paula Ellefson, local pro-life leader and coordinator of 40 Days for Life in Rochester. “It is directly across the street from one of our city’s high schools and it is typically very busy with students throughout the day.”
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the Rochester PP started doing abortions in November 2010.
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But this did not become public knowledge until a PP vice president, Connie Lewis, told the Rochester Post Bulletin in August 2011, “In recent months, we have begun providing a limited number of medicinal abortions at the Rochester clinic.”
Pro-lifers in Rochester have been sidewalk counseling and conducting rallies there ever since that article came out. Twelve 40 Days for Life Campaigns have been conducted there, along with several “Defund PP” rallies and MCCL (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life) events. Paula and her team of pro-life activists in Rochester will continue to pray that this PP will close down completely! And we are hopeful that fewer Rochester-area women will chose abortion with the end of abortions at this facility.
Minnesota was one of three states where webcam abortions were known to be committed. PP in Iowa pioneered webcam abortions starting in 2008 and PP in Maine started in 2016. With the end of abortions at the Rochester PP, webcam abortions are no longer being done in Minnesota.
