Abortion Provider Comes to Queens, NY
Planned Parenthood has a global and national presence; being well-funded, it seeks to provide its “services” at more and more locations. Not content with over 700 “health centers” throughout the United States, the organization recently broke ground for the construction of a $9 million “health care facility,” as Planned Parenthood calls it, in a bustling section of Long Island City in the Borough of Queens in New York City—a location easily accessible by public transportation, thus assuring a steady supply of “clients.”
Though flush with cash—Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its affiliates had assets of over $1.6 billion as of June 30, 2013—the New York City affiliate will not bear the full cost of its new site. The facility, in fact, is being built with some infusion of public money. Planned Parenthood claims it has raised $8.1 million from individual and corporate donations but, according to press reports, the remainder will come from tax dollars, through an allocation of $737,000 from the New York City budget, $250,000 from New York State, and an additional $121,000 from the Queens Borough President’s budget.
Planned Parenthood exists primarily to terminate nascent human beings who are deemed unplanned, unwanted, and unwelcome. Moreover, Planned Parenthood charges for its “services” targeting Blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities, and boasts of its ability to assist indigent clients in obtaining government funding through Medicaid. Again, taxpayer monies are involved.
By PPNYC’s own calculations, more than half of all pregnancies in Queens are “unintended.” By that standard, business may be headed for boom times—unless a well-aimed, strong, convincing message can be made loud and clear in defense of life. Prolifers need to rise to the occasion.
Finally, there is something to be said about the location of Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s headquarters: Situated at the far end of West 33rd Street in Manhattan, it is across the street from the rear of the Church of St. Michael the Archangel. While there is no outdoor statue of this angel—usually portrayed brandishing a huge sword driving sinners into hell—there is a statue of another figure facing the headquarters building: It is Christ, lifting a gentle hand and calling those who labor to come to him for solace. Life is on one side of the street. Death on the other. The church and the statue are reminders that the gates of hell shall not prevail.
—Vincenzina Santoro is an international economist and represents the American Family Association of New York at the United Nations.