Richard Mahoney of Baton Rouge held a large wooden crucifix in one hand and a banner that read “One dead, one wounded” in the other Saturday morning. He stood next to a woman clutching rosary beads, reclining in a lawn chair in the waning shade of a light post.
ProtestPP.com, headed by numerous pro-life groups such as Citizens for a Pro-Life Society and Created Equal, organized nationwide protests Saturday to raise awareness of “Planned Parenthood’s trafficking of aborted baby parts,” according to a ProtestPP.com press release.
Mahoney was one of about 170 pro-life protesters standing outside the Planned Parenthood building on Government Street.
“They are purveyors of sex traffickers and egregious medical malpractice,” Mahoney said. “We have to stop this madness in America.”
Curious motorists slowed down to honk or wave. One woman with bumper stickers matching some of the group’s posters gave the protesters a thumbs up as she passed by.
Russell Marino, who has lived in Baton Rouge for more than 50 years, coordinated the event’s local chapter. He said the protest was not made up exclusively of Christians and was not only about the recent videos.
“Our nation needs to cry out to God for forgiveness for the millions of aborted babies,” Marino said in a Monday press release.
The two-hour event began at 9 a.m. The protesters weren’t allowed to demonstrate on Planned Parenthood’s property, so Marino ushered the group along the public sidewalk bordering the clinic.
By 10 a.m., protesters were searching for parking spots across the road and lining a second street curb. Prayer circles formed while some shouted scripture.
Attendees held signs reading “Stop Killing Babies” and “Stop Abortion Stop Obama.” One man wrote on the sidewalk in multi-colored chalk “Don’t murder your baby.”
Another sign had the words “Planned Parenthood” above a hand-drawn swastika encasing a dollar sign.
Many people quietly chatted or prayed, while one man brought a guitar to play and gathered others to sing.
Andrew Walker, from Lake Charles, drove 130 miles to Baton Rouge for the event. Walker, a Catholic, said the issue was religious, not political.
“I came in protest of the abortion activities of Planned Parenthood in light of the recent videos that have come out,” he said.
