Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez locked out a group of moms and babies who planned to meet with her Thursday to share about the help they received from pro-life pregnancy resource centers.
The mothers and their children showed up at the New York Democrat’s office in Washington, D.C. as part of the #NotFakeToMe campaign organized by Stanton Public Policy Center and the Purple Sash Revolution. Through the campaign, mothers are sharing how pro-life pregnancy centers like Stanton Healthcare supported them and their children through difficult pregnancy situations. They believe these charities do not deserve the “fake clinic” label that many Democrats have given them.
The Rev. Patrick Mahoney, chief strategy officer for Stanton Public Policy Center, told LifeNews that the moms had a “very positive meeting” with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s staff earlier this week. The Massachusetts Democrat recently claimed pregnancy centers “torture” women and need to be “shut down.”
However, when they arrived at Ocasio-Cortez’s office Thursday morning, Mahoney said the door was locked and no one appeared to be inside.
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Why are Stanton Healthcare and their moms having to meet outside of the office of AOC? Because her staff had the door locked with no one there! #ProLife #NotFakeToMe @LifeNewsHQ @sbaprolife @LiveAction @StudentsforLife @AbbyJohnson pic.twitter.com/DdinX2v5RV
— Rev. Patrick Mahoney (@revmahoney) January 19, 2023
It appears Ocasio-Cortez, a pro-abortion Democrat, may have wanted to avoid the meeting.
“AOC’s staff definitely knew Stanton was coming,” Mahoney told LifeNews. “… we let the Capitol Police know that we were going to her office at 11 a.m. and we also sent out a news [release] announcing we were going to AOC’s office at 11 a.m.
“We talked with the gentleman who delivers mail in the Canaan Office building, and he said hers was the only office that was closed,” he continued. “Based on my over 30 years of working on Capitol Hill, the Capitol police always let a member of Congress know if there is going to be a news conference held outside of their office. We did the exact same thing for Senator Warren the day before, and we had a very positive meeting with her staff.”
The mothers shared their stories in the hallway outside her office anyway, and left notes telling the New York congresswoman about the help they received from pro-life organizations, Mahoney said.
In a statement, Brandi Swindell, CEO and founder of Stanton Healthcare, stressed how important it is for lawmakers like Warren and Ocasio-Cortez to hear these women’s stories and see their babies.
“Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, pro-life centers have been subjected to violent physical attacks and some members of Congress have condemned pregnancy medical clinics and resource centers, called them ‘fake clinics’ and are calling for their regulation or closure,” Swindell said.
She welcomed both lawmakers to visit Stanton’s fully-accredited medical clinic in Meridian, Idaho to see how pro-life advocates are providing professional medical care, practical resources and emotional support to pregnant and parenting mothers, including those in refugee and other marginalized communities.
Pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes and other pro-life charities serve millions of families every year across the U.S., but their work has been under increasing attack by politicians like Warren and radical abortion activists.
According to an analysis by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, pregnancy resource centers have helped save more than 800,000 unborn babies from abortion since 2016. The research found U.S. pregnancy resource centers served about 2 million people in 2019, providing more than 730,000 pregnancy tests, nearly half a million ultrasounds, 1.3 million packs of diapers and more than 2 million baby outfits, all for free.
