Planned Parenthood Opens 78,000 Square Foot Abortion Center In Houston, Texas

In the largest anti-abortion protest held in Houston in years, several thousand people on Monday marched, prayed and kept silent.

The protesters scrawled the word “life” on red tape across their mouths to convey their opposition to what they called an “abortion super center” that Planned Parenthood will open in a six-story building on the Gulf Freeway in March.

Planned Parenthood responded to charges about its location in a written statement.

"Planned Parenthood chooses locations based on the greater community's need for our services and there is great demand in the Houston area. More than 1 million residents in Harris County lack health insurance and half are of reproductive age. Clients come to our health centers from all over Harris County, not just the neighborhoods near our facility.

"Women need to have a voice in what happens to their own bodies, which is why abortion remains legal right now," the statement reads.

Houston, TX (LifeNews.comwww.lifenews.com/state4718.html) -- Momentum is building for the protest of a new Planned Parenthood abortion center in Houston, Texas. The abortion business is set to open its largest abortion facility in the nation -- a 78,000 square foot behemoth that will house its regional headquarters and do second-trimester abortions.

"The six-story, 78,000 square foot building will include a surgical floor equipped to provide late-term abortions," the group says. "Planned Parenthood continues to target low-income, minority families and has strategically located the new clinic in the middle of Hispanic and African-American neighborhoods and directly across the street from the University of Houston."

But thousands of pro-life advocates from across the country demonstrated in Houston Monday, saying the site's location unfairly targets minorities because it is located in southeast Houston in a predominantly African American and Hispanic community.

Ann Hettinger, Texas state director for Concerned Women for America, told LifeNews.com today that, to her knowledge, the new abortion center will only be eclipsed in size by one in China.

"CWA of Texas has a dream that all children will be safe in their mother's womb, regardless of race, defect or profit," Hettinger said. "We will not stand back and watch a modern-day death chamber redefine the Houston skyline." 

 Lou Engle, founder of The Call to Conscience, and organizer of the protest, says he hopes thousands of Texans will turn up to protest the new "abortion super center."

Wendy Wright, the president of CWA, urged pro-life advocates to attend.

"Planned Parenthood tries to deny its long-held goal to target minorities for abortion," she said.

"This mega-abortion mill exposes the true motivations of Planned Parenthood and their supporters. It is centered smack in the middle of minority neighborhoods with one floor set aside for late-term abortions. The message: once a pregnant woman walks through those doors, no unborn child -- no matter how old -- is safe," she added.

As expected, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) removed the Pro-Life language in the Senate version.  Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) attempted to reinstate the Stupak-Pitts language but was rebuffed by fellow Democrats.  Pro-Lifers held out hope because the Senate bill would need 60 votes to pass and Senator Nelson was vote number 60.  We expected that in exchange for his vote, he would require that the Pro-Life language was included to ensure that taxpayer funds would not be used to subsidize abortions nationwide.  In an unexpected turn of events, Senator Nelson caved to pro-abortion demands and allowed the bill to continue to fund abortions in exchange for several pork barrel promises for his own state.  The Senate bill then passed by a vote of 60-40.  Specifically, the bill would exempt Nebraska from costs associated with the expansion of Medicaid.  In exchange for Nelson’s vote, this kickback alone would cost the 49 other states at least $100,000,000.

Several Texas Democrats in the House voted both in favor of the Stupak-Pitts amendment and the health care bill.  While two of these congressmen are reliable Pro-Life votes, nothing can be taken for granted.  Please call all three and thank them for supporting the Pro-Life language.  Most importantly, ask that they do not support the health care bill without Stupak-Pitts.

Simply stated, Planned Parenthood must leave Houston. The simplest way community members can send that message to the controversial organization is to encourage friends, family members, other students, co-workers, and fellow believers to not use Planned Parenthood's services. There are many other medical alternatives in Houston to Planned Parenthood. By making informed health choices, community members can receive high quality, compassionate, professional care without the controversy.

No person should ever feel that the only place in the city to get medical care is the local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic.

Other than abortion, medical services provided at the Planned Parenthood facilities are available elsewhere in Houston, and at many of these places patients will be treated regardless of their financial situation.

For a list of alternatives, please call 713-395-1330.

Abortion Is A 'god-Given Right', Liberal Leader Declares

(CNSNEWS.Com) – Rev. Carlton Veazey, president and CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, told a small crowd of pro-abortion protesters that women have a “god-given right” to abortion and that opposition from pro-life congressmen and religious leaders would never take it away.
Veazey, closing speaker at a “Stop Stupak” rally on Capitol Hill staged by major pro-abortion groups such as Planned Parenthood, NARAL-Pro Choice, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) told the crowd that not only did they have a constitutional right to abortion, but that they had a god-given one as well.

“Don’t let anybody tell you that religious people don’t support choice,” Veazey said at the gathering in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. “You not only have a constitutional right for abortion, but you have a god-given right."

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn)

“So make your voices heard!” said DeLauro. “Those Members who are pro-choice and who voted for Stupak should feel your wrath. Those who could not find their way clear to vote for health care, for whatever reason, should feel your wrath too.”
“But sadly, the Conference of Catholic Bishops had other ideas,” said DeLauro. “They chose to hold comprehensive health care reform hostage to the abortion issue. In doing so, they not only used a dubious rationale that puts even their own federal funding at risk. They failed their fundamental obligation to help the poor and heal the sick.”
Veazy was even more direct, saying that protesters were there to “take on” the USCCB.
  “We are also here to call out the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, because no one religion, no theological perspective should get the kind of weight that they can (-to-) put pressure on the Congress,” he said.
“Hold the whole Congress up and say, ‘If we don’t get our way, we will work against health reform,’” said Veazy. “We in the religious community resent that. We believe that no religion should carry that kind of weight in legislation.”

But isn't that what these protesters are doing? Pushing 'Their Religious' weight in Legislation?

Why are 'These Religious People'  pushing for Abortion? 
Why Is Abortion So Important In 'Their Religion'?