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League Crashes Planned Parenthood and NARAL Galas

Face the Truth at NARAL party

Passersby see the truth at the NARAL protest, June 8 [Photo by Matt Yonke]

In late April, League staffer Corrina Gura discovered Planned Parenthood would be holding a fundraiser on May 5 at the Chicago History Museum with the theme, “Generations Gala: A Celebration of Healthy Families.” The League opposes Planned Parenthood whenever they attempt to celebrate abortion, but this particularly egregious theme begged for a League protest showing the truth about abortion.

League staff set to work immediately notifying volunteers via phone, e-mail and mail. The afternoon of the party, we set out with a truck full of graphic abortion signs and picket signs reading Moms for Life and Dads for Life to show that pro-lifers truly support healthy families while Planned Parenthood destroys them.

Planned Parenthood’s “Healthy” Families

The space outside the Chicago History Museum provided an ideal protest area with a broad sidewalk leaving plenty of space to hold up graphic abortion signs without blocking foot traffic. Volunteers lined the sidewalk outside the museum with first and second trimester abortion signs and manned a picket line beside the door. All Planned Parenthood’s guests that evening walked a gauntlet of graphic abortion signs to get there. Nobody inside was unaware of what Planned Parenthood really does.

Joining the protest were pro-life blogger Jill Stanek and visiting New Zealand activist Andy Moore. Andy was very impressed with the League’s brand of public protest and is now looking for ways to team up with us to bring hard-hitting activism to the southern hemisphere.

In the wake of the protest, a video was produced along with a slide show of snapshots of all of Planned Parenthood’s donors and supporters who attended. We invited supporters to see if they could identify any of the attendees so we can appeal to them to end their support for the nation’s largest abortion provider. The video has received nearly 1,000 views on YouTube.

League Protests Secret NARAL Party

The pro-abortion group NARAL took note after the League rained on Planned Parenthood’s parade. When they decided to plan a party on June 8 to thank Illinois’ pro-abortion Congressional delegation for standing up to the so-called “War on Women,” they tried to keep a tighter lid on the event.

NARAL decided not to release the location of the event except to registered attendees. With a little pro-life sleuthing, League staffers uncovered the location: The Gage Restaurant, a tony eatery on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. With the site identified, League staff snapped into action, alerting volunteers, planning the logistics of the protest and creating a flyer to hand out to passersby explaining the reasons for the protest.

End the Real War on Women

The theme of the protest was a call upon NARAL to stop the real war on women: the war on the 600,000 girls who lose their lives to abortion every year. Both NARAL’s guests and the general public passed a second trimester abortion sign every 15 feet for the entire block where the Gage is located. Protesters also held special signs reading, NARAL: Stop the War on Unborn Women.

Though temperatures had been as high as 100° that afternoon, the shade of the tall buildings and the breeze off Lake Michigan kept things remarkably comfortable. On such warm days thousands flock to Chicago’s Millennium Park, across the street from the Gage. Visitors and tourists all faced the truth about abortion and saw NARAL’s name linked with the graphic images they beheld.

NARAL Takes Paranoid Security Measures

An e-mail the League intercepted from NARAL to party attendees the day of the event warned their supporters that photo ID would be required for everyone attending the event, and no one would be admitted who wasn’t registered on NARAL’s list. A pro-life spy informed the League that off-duty Chicago police were working security for the event.

When our informant noticed the handcuffs on their belts and asked why they were there, one of the officers replied, “Trouble.” When asked what kind of “trouble” he expected, the officer replied, “Didn’t you see those people outside? They cause trouble.” Our informant asked what kind of trouble he expected from the peaceful pro-lifers, but he just repeated, “Trouble.”

Director Meets NARAL President

Later on in the protest, NARAL President Nancy Keenan came out of the event to talk to protesters—a true rarity for our pro-abortion opposition. Usually they stick to a strict strategy of non-engagement with “the antis,” as they call us pro-lifers.

Keenan first approached a volunteer holding a second trimester abortion picture and said, “Thanks for being here, it makes us look good.” She then proceeded to shake hands with League National Director Joe Scheidler and introduced herself.

After sharing some pleasantries, some of the volunteers standing with Joe told Keenan she was in the wrong business and that she should listen to God. She replied with New Age aplomb, “God whispers in our ear and we all interpret what he says differently.” After being cautioned to make sure she wasn’t mishearing the Lord, Keenan headed back inside for her party.

No Abortion Party Will Be Unprotested

The abortion industry holds these parties with their friendly sounding themes for one reason: to distance themselves from the grisly reality of what they do. The League is committed to opposing any such celebration of abortion. As League Executive Director Eric Scheidler said in the Planned Parenthood gala protest video, “Every time you throw a party, we’re going to be there showing what you do: kill unborn babies in their mothers’ wombs.”

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