New York, NY (CFAM/LIFENEWS) — Secretly filmed videos of Planned Parenthood staff in the U.S. harvesting and selling the organs of aborted babies ignited protests in seven countries last weekend – and triggered questions of how widespread the practices may be.
“Considering that Marie Stopes International also performs late term abortions, it is therefore justified to ask that the shady practices of their abortion centres in Britain and elsewhere undergo intensive government investigations,” said Bernadette Smyth of Precious Life in Belfast where over 100 people protested.
For weeks, the Center for Medical Progress has been releasing undercover videos of top Planned Parenthood medical officials glibly discussing abortion techniques, such as illegal partial-birth abortions, to extract intact hearts, lungs and brains – sometimes while the baby is still alive – and haggling over prices to sell to researchers. These practices put mothers at greater risk and violate laws against selling fetal tissue.
Dozens gathered in front of the Slovak Family Planning Association “to express solidarity with the efforts of people in the U.S. about the abolition of [Planned Parenthood] in their country and to reject efforts to introduce similar practices in Slovakia,” organizers stated.
Anna Záborská, a member of Parliament, criticized doctors at the Slovakian organization for not condemning Planned Parenthood. “What guarantee have the women and girls that, for these doctors, it is primarily about women’s health, and not your own professional or financial benefits,” she told the crowd.
The Slovak family planning group had joined a statement in July from the European Network for Planned Parenthood claiming women voluntarily donated their babies’ body parts and the U.S. affiliate did not “benefit” from it. Since then a video was released of a technician stating babies’ organs were harvested without their mother’s consent.
“If there was a higher gestation [baby] and the technicians needed it, there were times where they would just take what they wanted,” said Holly O’Donnell, a whistleblower formerly with StemExpress, a firm that worked with Planned Parenthood. Her co-workers “would not ‘consent’ the donors.”
In Ireland, pro-lifers held posters of unborn babies asking “How Much Are Her Body Parts Worth?” They want their government to stop funding the Irish Family Planning Association, which received $146,807 from Planned Parenthood.
“Did some of that money come from harvesting organs of aborted babies?” asked Clare Molloy of Youth Defence. “Will they condemn the hideous practice of cutting into a baby’s face to harvest the brain, while the baby’s heart is still beating?”
Keep up with the latest pro-life news and information on Twitter. Follow @LifeNewsHQ
With less than 24 hours notice, 30 people protested at the London headquarters of International Planned Parenthood Federation.
“We hope that this protest acted as witness” against dismembering and selling babies’ bodies, “and showed that there is international support for the #ProtestPP movement,” Philip Campbell, a pro-life activist,.
Protests occurred in England, Honduras, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, and over 340 cities in the U.S. where nearly 70,000 participated. It was publicized through social media as #ProtestPP and #PPSellsBodyParts.
Theresa King of Virginia expected 100 people at this first event she had ever organized.
“Boy was I wrong. We had about 10 times that with an estimate of 750-800. These videos have really brought a lot to light and have convinced people to become active.”
Several U.S. states stopped funding Planned Parenthood due to the exposes. More videos are yet to be released.
LifeNews Note: Wendy Wright writes for the Center for Family and Human Rights. This article originally appeared in the pro-life group’s Friday Fax and is used with permission.
