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Planned Parenthood clinic draws negative reaction
The Advocate
Horns honked and middle fingers waved from the windows of passing cars during a protest Wednesday of the new Planned Parenthood office on MHCC campus.
Despite the fact that none of the services they were opposing (physical abortions and the chemical abortion pill: mifepristone, commonly know as RU-486) are offered in the Planned Parenthood office at MHCC, the bunch was bound and determined to voice their opinion.
"We had a contest to see who got the most middle fingers," said protest organizer Liberty Pike. "I think I got 40-something."
The students seemed prepared for the negative reception.
Pike, at one point, shook a sign saying, "Don't hate me because I (heart) babies" at vehicles.
After the event, Pike said she thought 30 people had shown up to the event.
"Our turnout is usually small. A lot of people are scared. Confrontational and judgmental are words I hear from people."
Protestor Mariann Pike, sister-in-law of the organizer, said, "I've been with a few different groups protesting things. It's very rewarding and I think a lot of people just don't understand that."
Another protestor, Liberty Pike's younger sister Varity Grant, said, "It's not their right to offer abortion services on campus."
Liz Delapoer, public relations person for Planned Parenthood, said, "We do not offer, nor do we intend to offer, nor have we ever claimed to offer any kind of abortion services on the MHCC campus. That office provides: annual exams and pap tests for women, comprehensive birth control, family planning services, screening for women for breast and cervical cancer, testing and treatment for S.T.D.'s, emergency contraceptives and free pregnancy tests."
According to the opposing group's (MHCC Pro-Life Alumni) petition on www.thepetitionsite.com: "This alleged "health organization [Planned Parenthood] actually harms it patients. Most of them — innocent babies- — do not leave the clinics alive. Adult patients leave with lifelong psychological scarring and guilt, if not physical harm, including increased cancer risk."
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