(Saint Paul, Minnesota)
Saturday morning lawmakers joined thousands of Protesters in Saint Paul outside the Planned Parenthood Regional Office for Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The Protesters called for an investigation in to Planned Parenthood, as well as the regulation of abortion clinics, and the end of taxpayer funded abortions.
Representative Kathy Lohmer told the crowd attempts to regulate abortion clinics are always met with “rigorous opposition” and that her and the other lawmakers in attendance will, “continue the fight” to regulate abortion clinics and end the flow of tax dollars to those facilities. Representative Marion O’Neill shared a personal story about losing her own infant daughter, and how that experience led her to believe that all life is precious and worth saving. Representative Abigail Whelan expressed excitement for her success passing definitions and consequences that were lacking in the “Born Alive Infant Protection Act” but stated there is, “no way of knowing if this law is being enforced” because of Governor Dayton’s unwillingness to regulate abortion clinics. Senator Roger Chamberlain called this “a human rights issue” while Senator Dan Hall called this an, “American Holocaust.”
Representative Matt Dean spoke to the crowd about his inquiries in to Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, and said he was told they “do not participate in fetal tissue donation.” Representative Dean was not satisfied with that response, and also called on Governor Dayton to investigate the facility.
Representatives Glenn Gruenhagen, Jason Rarick, Anna Wills, Jim Nash, Steve Drazkowski, and Brian Daniels also addressed the crowd, calling on citizens and lawmakers to continue the fight to regulate and defund the clinics.
On the other side of the building roughly two dozen supporters of Planned Parenthood gathered, bearing signs that read “Health Care Happens Here.”
The anti-Planned Parenthood protests are incited by a series of videos released by the Center for Medical Progress. One of the videos shows an employee for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast discussing the sale of aborted fetal tissue, after their Regional Affiliate denied the facilities’ involvement with those practices. Jennifer Aulwes, who represents Planned Parenthood in Minnesota, told reporters that their facility does not participate in fetal tissue donation. Alpha News asked if she stands by this statement after reports of the Gulf Coast branch being caught lying, and did not receive a response.
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