Las Vegas rally protests federal funding for Planned Parenthood
Protesters gathered Saturday at Planned Parenthood health centers in more than 200 cities, including Las Vegas, to rally against government funding for the clinic.
About 50 people gathered at one of the Las Vegas Valley’s two Planned Parenthood locations, 3220 W Charleston Blvd., and stood quietly on the sidewalks surrounding the clinic, chatting or reciting the Hail Mary prayer.
Some brought signs and banners from home, while others picked up signs provided at the protest. Many carried white wooden crosses brought by local Joe Kapton. He made 56 of them, to represent the “56 million legal abortions since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973.”
“Think about all the great scientists and leaders who aren’t here today because they were aborted,” Kapton said. “It’s unbelievable.”
Many protesters said they wanted to see the money that funds Planned Parenthood put to better use.
“If we’re going to be spending the money, we want to see it go to better qualified health care providers,” said Jessi Bridges, director of Nevadans for Life, an anti-abortion advocacy group.
“When I get past the rhetoric that’s used to sell abortion and I see how the procedures work, it’s not an empowering thing. I don’t see how it’s supposed to make me feel powerful,” she said.
Planned Parenthood cannot use federal funds for abortion services, but does receive grants from the government for family planning services, according to the organization’s website.
Most of the clinic’s revenue comes in the form of Medicaid or Title X reimbursements, which all medical providers receive when they treat patients who use those programs.
Bridges said that she didn’t see counter protesters the last three times she rallied against the clinic’s funding, but thought there might be a few on Saturday.
Instead, volunteers and staff wrote pro-abortion rights messages on the sidewalk surrounding the clinic on Friday, before the planned protest.
Rachel Siota, a community outreach intern at the Las Vegas location, said the volunteers wrote the messages to reassure patients going into the clinic that day.
“We’re going to ignore [the protesters], instead we want to keep showing people patience, love and support, so they know Planned Parenthood stands for them as much as they stand for us.”
Planned Parenthood released a statement Saturday from its interim vice president, Mary Alice Carter, in response to the rallies.
“Protests at health centers are designed to intimidate patients seeking basic health care services at Planned Parenthood,” Carter said. “Patients don’t go to Planned Parenthood health centers to make a political statement — they go to receive quality care from a provider they know and trust.”
Claire Finley, a former president of UNLV Students for Life who also helped organize the Las Vegas protest, said there are better, less controversial options than Planned Parenthood for women’s health care.
“All women should have access to health care,” Finley said. “That’s a legitimate concern, but that money should be channeled into federally qualified clinics so they can provide that health care without the controversy.”
Contact Max Michor at mmichor@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @MaxMichor on Twitter.
