An anti-Abortion group in Minnesota has been campaigning against a new Planned Parenthood in Richfield, Minn., even though the clinic doesn’t actually perform abortions, Cosmopolitan reported.
The clinic opened at the end of June, and since then Pro-Life Action Ministries (PLAM) has been vigorously objecting to it. The group has started a petition, held meetings and are now distributing flyers around town.
They protested the grand opening and have kept a constant presence outside of the clinic to offer “sidewalk counseling,” according to Cosmo. PLAM activists blasted the city’s Chamber of Commerce for “advocating for abortion” by putting together a ribbon cutting for the building in which no abortions are performed.
Brian Gibson, executive director of Pro-Life Action Ministries, told Cosmo that the group only take issue with the clinic’s role in providing abortions. The group argues that certain forms of birth control “can cause early abortions” and that emergency contraception drugs “function most often as abortion-inducing drugs.”
The new Planned Parenthood opened up after the Centro de Salud clinic in South Minneapolis closed, potentially leaving a gap in services for the Hispanic community.
The group claims they have gotten a largely positive response to their efforts to protest the clinic and refer individuals to a Catholic crisis pregnancy center.
“Several people have requested information on what they can do to aid the effort,” Gibson told Cosmo. “Some have expressed gratitude for undertaking this effort. Virtually no negative responses have come from identifiable members of the Hispanic community.”
But according to the clinic’s director of operations, Kristen Bucko, the protests have not kept people from seeking care at the Planned Parenthood.
“We’re really fortunate that our patients feel very confident walking into our building. It also helps that we had security there the first few days when there were more people outside,” she told Cosmo.
She said that the constant protests have even led to donations.
H/t Raw Story
