In light of the distressing details of the Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell trial, a pro-life group Tuesday called on President Barack Obama to cancel his appearance at a Planned Parenthood gala this week.
“In the wake of the gruesome and horrific revelations emanating from the trial of abortion Doctor Kermit Gosnell, we urge President Obama to cancel his fundraising speech for big abortion giant Planned Parenthood on Thursday night,” pro-life Live Action president Lila Rose said in a statement.
Gosnell is on trial for the murders of seven babies born alive in botched abortions, and one woman. The details of the charges and his trial — including baby remains hoarded in refrigerators, baby feet kept in jars, untrained staff administering drugs and conducting abortions, and women severely wounded during abortions — have been a macabre story of abortions gone awry.
While Planned Parenthood did not play a part in Gosnell’s so-called “Horror House,” Live Action claims that Obama needs to “reconsider his support for the abortion industry.” When recently asked about the Gosnell trial, Obama declined to comment on the open investigation, but quoted former President Clinton in saying “abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.”
“Planned Parenthood is the nation’s number-one abortion provider, having received in 2011 (the latest year with available data) a record $542 million in tax dollars under the policies of the Obama administration. Over the past few weeks, we have heard the brutal details of the slaughter of innocent human beings that goes on within the walls of many abortion clinics, including Gosnell’s ‘House of Horrors’ in Philadelphia and the ‘meat-market’ ‘assembly-line’ Planned Parenthood of Delaware,” Rose added.
Former Planned Parenthood employees at a Delaware clinic recently decried unsanitary conditions at the facility. The clinic has suspended performing abortions.
“These accounts by former clinic staff have shell shocked the nation and it is incumbent upon the President to reconsider his support for the abortion industry and Planned Parenthood, which last year profited from abortion $87 million dollars committing over 300,000 abortions,” Rose concluded.
Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, praised Obama’s upcoming appearance in a statment.
“President Obama has done more than any president in history for women’s health and rights,” Richards said. “He understands that access to birth control and preventive health care are economic issues for women and their families. We fought alongside him to ensure that women’s health access was expanded in the landmark Affordable Care Act, and now we have to fight hard to ensure that the full promise of health care reform is realized for millions of women. We are honored to have President Obama join us at our ‘Time for Care’ Gala at this pivotal moment for women’s health.”