Planned Parenthood protested
International rallies were in response to videos alleging illegal fetal organ trade
Hundreds of people gather Saturday outside Planned Parenthood in Houston as part of an international day of protest against the group. Planned Parenthood say the protesters were trying to stop Texans from getting the health care it provides.
Several hundred people gathered outside a southeast Houston Planned Parenthood as part of an international day of protest against the group.
The protests, which were held in places as far off as Northern Ireland, Mexico and Slovakia, were spurred by the release of a series of videos secretly recorded by an anti-abortion organization that the group has said shows Planned Parenthood executives offering to sell fetal organ tissue, which is illegal.
Planned Parenthood spokespeople have said the videos were edited and are not accurate, and that the agency does not sell fetal tissue.
“While Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast doesn’t currently provide this service, it is a standard practice in the medical community,” Rochelle Tafolla, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, which operates in Texas and Louisiana, previously told the Chronicle. “In health care, patients sometimes want to donate tissue to scientific research that can help lead to medical breakthroughs, such as treatments and cures for serious diseases. Women who have abortions are no different.”
Protesters said they were motivated by their faith, their general opposition to abortion and by the secretly recorded videos. Some came carrying crucifixes or posters emblazoned with the portrait of the Virgin Mary. Over the two-hour protest, protesters could be seen kneeling in prayer on the outskirts of Planned Parenthood’s property, while others preached at people entering and leaving the complex.
“Their response isn’t very believable,” said Jeanne Ferrell, who attended the protest with her daughter and grandchildren.
“My heart goes out to those moms, but there’s another way,” said Catherine Velarde, her 41-year-old daughter from west Houston.
Ferrell and Velarde were among hundreds who gathered along Dumble Street 9 a.m. Saturday — some who’d come from as far as Beaumont, many carrying signs bearing phrases like “Planned Parenthood sells baby parts,” “Take my hand, not my life” or “Defund Planned Parenthood.”
Elsewhere across the state, protesters took part in at least 14 similar events, in cities including Corpus Christi, Dallas and Plano.
“The after effects (of abortion) are horrifying,” said Teresa Hernandez, 47, of Baybrook, who had one in 1989. “It’s tormenting to know that you took that life out of your womb. ... They don’t tell you that.”
After the protests began, officials with Planned Parenthood said the people who’d showed up outside their facility were “trying to stop health care.”
“For 80 years, Planned Parenthood has provided the women, men and young people in Texas with basic, preventive health care including well-woman exams, life-saving cancer screen- ings, birth control, HIV testing, screenings and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, high blood pressure checks, diabetes screenings and more,” said Alejandra Diaz, a spokeswoman for the group, in a statement.
“These extremist organizations are trying to stop health care. These groups don’t do a thing to help people detect cancer or avoid unintended pregnancy. Too many women, men and families in Texas are going without health care, and it’s taking a toll on our community. We’re taking action to help more people get health care, and these groups simply are not.”