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Picketers outside Planned Parenthood say they're there to spread truth

By Howard B. Owens

Three Christians from Genesee County were carrying signs in front of the Planned Parenthood facility on West Main Street, Batavia, this afternoon.

Chris Connelly said the trio felt led by the Lord to inform people about abortion and what they believe goes on at the facility. He said the group has been at the location every day since Friday and will continue as long as they feel God is calling them to the mission.

"We need to expose sin and call it for what it is," Connelly said. "We're out here to let people know, not condemning them. We're out there to let them know -- people who have had the procedure -- that like any other sin it can be forgiven. It can be washed by the blood of Christ, but they need to turn from that. They need to know there are other options."

He said what they're doing is about truth and love.

"We're commanded to love people," Connelly said. "There cannot be love without truth."

Mona Doyon (left in the picture) said anybody who needs help can come to them and be provided with help toward options other than abortion.

"For anybody who has had it, we don't want to cast stones," she said. "We're not here to judge anybody.  We just want to bring truth and maybe help them. We don't want anybody at all to think we're out here being angry, protesting, or anything. We just want to bring the truth."

Also pictured, Alexis Logsdon.

CLARIFICATION: Connelly says they were out last Friday and will be there on Fridays (not every day) for as long as they feel led to be present.

shelly mathers

If they did some research first they would know that the planned parenthood in batavia doesn't do abortions but will send you to a different location.

May 30, 2014, 3:43pm Permalink
Tim Miller

"We're not condemning you, or judging you, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO HELL YOU SINNING SCUM!!!!!"

Quite frankly, as long as they let the folks trying to get into PP get in unobstructed, and don't obstruct normal daily business of the area they are protesting in, then they are perfectly within their rights.

Won't keep me chuckling at the christian love shown in "We're not condemning you, or judging you, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO HELL YOU SINNING SCUM!!!!!" though...

May 30, 2014, 4:03pm Permalink
Tim Miller

Howard - you may want to change the headline to "Picketers outside Planned Parenthood say they're there to spread *their belief system*", or add quotes around "they're there to spread truth".

May 30, 2014, 4:11pm Permalink
Sally Waldron

Planned Parenthood for those that want to believe it or not, does more than simply abortions, they provide female health care to many of those that cannot afford it or do not have insurance to cover it. I actually used them years ago when I was first on my own and my insurance was so bad there was no way I could afford a regular OB-GYN.

There is no one at the door handing out pamphlets to those that are pregnant insisting abortions, nor do they have posters up promoting abortion, What they do have is the information available for those that want to make that choice, the same as every OB-GYN out there, so I could never understand why there were always the brunt of these pro lifers that need to stick their noses in everyone elses business. Yep I am pro-choice and still believe to this day that the government nor others have the right to judge or command over what a woman does with her body.

May 30, 2014, 6:06pm Permalink
Rachael Scott

If their intentions were truly to help others find alternatives to abortions rather than push their beliefs, I can think of a multitude of better ways to do that than standing outside an establishment that doesn't provide abortions.

May 30, 2014, 7:36pm Permalink
Beth Kinsley

They do provide medication abortions (abortion bill) but not the medical procedures. And they provide countless other medical services at affordable prices for people that would otherwise not be able to afford them. And flexible hours for patients who work days. I guess this is better than the creepy old guy in the cape who used to stand in the parking lot reading the bible out loud.

May 30, 2014, 10:29pm Permalink
Sally Waldron

What proof do you have of this Lincoln? I would be interested in what it is. The last time I was in their small offices they had examination rooms and no medical equipment to be seen except for to do exams. If there was a concern of a medical issue they would refer you to another hospital since they couldn't do the testing there.

May 31, 2014, 12:12am Permalink
Brenda Ranney

Curious why no contact info was listed in the article or is it on their signs ?
Sign me a breast cancer survivor who was initially screened, counseled, then directed to appropriate medical services when I was uninsured by Planned Parenthood of Batavia.

May 31, 2014, 2:22pm Permalink
Mark Potwora

Why should we have planned parenthood at all..If the law of the land is all have to have health insurance{obamacare} why should we need this at all..Your health insurance should pay for any of the services planned parenthood provides....Also aren't all poor in this county getting medicaid...

May 31, 2014, 2:34pm Permalink
Jeff Allen

Julie, that is an excellent question. If he is not around, he does not qualify to be called daddy, he is simply a sperm donor who got what he wanted and then ditched. If he is any type of stand up person, he is telling the young girl that he is equally, if not more responsible for the unplanned pregnancy. He is also telling her that he will do whatever it takes to care for, love, and support both her and the child. That is the best case scenario. However, even if it is the first (and tragically that is all too often the case) it still is not logical to end the life of the only truly innocent party in this whole scenario.

May 31, 2014, 5:02pm Permalink
Jeff Allen

Great point Mark. Why are we continuing to give over half a billion dollars to a private agency that provides redundant services to a government program that costs taxpayers over a trillion dollars. Obamacare mandates that you have it, mandates women's reproductive screening, mandates birth control be provided free of charge, mandates mammograms be free of charge even though PP doesn't even provide them, mandates access to OG/GYN professionals, and mandates subsidies if you can't afford it. Tell me again why PP is even necessary anymore?

May 31, 2014, 5:07pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/AR-FY13_111213_vF_rev3_ISSUU.pdf

With 15.6% of the population still uninsured, one would hardly call PP redundant. That's 23 million people: 37% being young, single adults without dependents- eligible for Medicaid but not enrolled, 25% being undocumented aliens, 16% would be mandate-exempt persons, 8% would be non-exempt, eligible for subsidized benefit but choose the penalty rather than enroll and the remaining 15%, those ineligible for subsidized benefit who choose the penalty rather than subscribe to plans outside the exchanges.

To put all of this into perspective: the cost of a visit to a gynecologist for those with insurance costs (on average) $50 but may require a referral, the cost without insurance, $125; the cost at a PP clinic, many services are free (pelvic exams, pap smears, STI testing and treatment, and birth control methods), services not covered under Title X are billed on a sliding scale (generally under $75) with option of installment payment.

May 31, 2014, 7:33pm Permalink
Jeff Allen

So C.M., we were sold empty promises? When Obamacare was being "marketed" the magic number was 30 million people uninsured was unacceptable. So now there are 23 million uninsured. So we are paying 2.6 trillion dollars to get 20% more people insured than before? Ouch!
Boiling down your numbers further, only women (obviously) age appropriate for PP services (weeding out the those too young, and those no longer in need of their services) and we end up with maybe a few hundred thousand actual individuals who are left with no other choice than Planned Parenthood. For that we pay over half a billion tax payer dollars. For MUCH less than that we could pay for each of those women to have a gold standard comprehensive healthcare plan. I'm glad you linked to the PP literature so that more folks can see that a private agency has MORE than half their annual budget directly subsidized by tax money...MORE than half. Quite a deal.

May 31, 2014, 9:17pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

45% is less than half. That maybe quibbling in your book, but it's accurate. Do you object to public money going to agencies such as the Salvation Army?

As for "Obamacare" I'm not about to defend the ACA. 20% may seem small, but it amounts to about 50 million people.

May 31, 2014, 9:59pm Permalink
Jeff Allen

If the Salvation Army relied on most of it's revenue from killing the unborn than yes, I would object. The 20% figure was 20% of the total uninsured which is less than 7 million and that is a very small number according to President Obama himself when he said that 5-7 million people losing their policies was insignificant.
Yes, let's quibble over 5% then consider that when you account for private donations, Planned Parenthood only generates 25% (that's accurate) of it's own revenue. In what other logical realm does it make sense to so heavily subsidize a private corporation that can only muster 25% of it's own support and must rely on handouts for the other 75%?

Jun 1, 2014, 8:13am Permalink
Kyle Couchman

The Salvation Army actually is the owner and Landlord of 1/3 or so of Manhattan in NYC they in no way hurt financially.

http://othersideofsalvationarmy.blogspot.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/realestate/how-do-you-get-a-key-to-gr…

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/01/19/292618/-Salvation-Army-s-War-o…

Theres also this little tidbit on how much money the Salvation Army plays with each year. They definately rely on other revenues. The revenues they get from abortion are equivalent to a handful of pennies to our buddy the CEO of GCEDC. See this...

In 1998, Joan Kroc, widow of McDonald's CEO Ray Kroc, donated $90 million to the Salvation Army to build a comprehensive community center in San Diego, California. Her wish was to create a center, supported in part by the community, where children and families would be exposed to different people, activities and arts that would otherwise be beyond their reach. Completed in 2002, the center sits on 12 acres (49,000 m2) and offers an ice arena, gymnasium, three pools, rock climbing walls, a performing arts theatre, an internet-based library, computer lab, and a school of visual and performing arts.

When Joan Kroc died in October 2003, she left $1.5 billion[1][2]—much of her estate—to The Salvation Army, by far the largest charitable gift ever given to the Army, and the largest single gift given to any charity at one time. The initial disbursements of this bequest began in January 2005. The gift had by then grown to $1.8 billion and was split evenly among the four Army Territories - Central, East, South and West. The money was designated to build a series of state-of-the-art Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers nationwide patterned after the San Diego center.

So based on that alone Mark I DO object to the Salvation Army getting any public funds of any kind. Having volunteered in 4 different cities in upstate NY I was disgusted by how donations are handled by them. All clothing furniture and other such donations are picked through by upper management and taken. Whats left is then put in the stores at rather high prices. Even here, go to VOA and Goodwill and compare what they offer as compared to SA all from the local donor pool.

Jun 1, 2014, 9:40am Permalink
Jeff Allen

Kyle the issue at hand is federal funding. PP receives 45% (accuracy noted) of its operating budget from tax dollars while SA receives 9%. SA impacts/aids/supports exponentially more people each year than PP. Ideology aside, it's a far more fiscally sound return on investment.

Jun 1, 2014, 9:43am Permalink
Kyle Couchman

As for PP that 45% your quibbling about is listed as Grants and Reimbursements from Govt Health Services.

Reimbursements can account for a great deal of that. However just to stop the argument before it starts Jeff. Do you really believe that if Planned Parenthood was shut down that your tax money they recieve in grants would be refunded to you? It would probably go to a pharmacuetical giant or other giant corporation involved in the Health system. Grant writer work hard and are pretty competative over the monies that are doled out. So its rather unfair to call what Govt monies they recieve entitlements or just giving money.

Jun 1, 2014, 9:55am Permalink
Jeff Allen

It ultimately isn't about the money, however, I feel tax dollars funding a company that kills the unborn out of convenience repugnant. If Planned Parenthood shut down and abortions were only performed in hospitals when, in the rare instances (and they are rare), the life of the mother was at risk, I would be pleased.

Jun 1, 2014, 1:16pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

Planned Parenthood is demonized- not because it has been maligned as an icon of abortion; it is demonized because it is equated to feminism and empowered women. You do not see hospitals and private gynecological offices picketed in the manner PP offices are. Money flows like a river from government coffers to the health care industry. Singling-out PP as some extraordinary example is baloney. 24.3% of our federal taxes go to health care. The only bigger river is the one that flows to "defense." If you don't think that the lobbyists and money-men aren't eager to redirect the trickle going to PP, you're spending too much time at Disney World.

http://www.pollingreport.com/abortion.htm

Jun 1, 2014, 1:36pm Permalink
Julie Morales

Your idealized description of daddy was very amusing. Perhaps your inability to acknowledge realities other than your imagination causes your faulty reasoning, and rather creepy desire to control women.

When do you think women no longer require gynecological services? Are you a gynecologist or otherwise qualified to make that determination? I just love it when clueless men tell women what we need.

Re: Post 29: That’s not for you decide. Oh but wait….you never would ever have to decide, would you.

Jun 1, 2014, 4:43pm Permalink
Jeff Allen

It has nothing to do with controlling women and everything with attempting to protect the one that has no say, no culpability, and no chance to fight back.

Jun 1, 2014, 8:51pm Permalink

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