On Saturday morning, Live Action President and Founder Lila Rose spoke to thousands at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver, Colorado. She described the injustice that exists when we deny the first human right to our most innocent and helpless human beings. “Without that right,” she explained, “all other rights are meaningless.”
Too often, abortion is just a word – referred to as a medical procedure – without much meaning. “Hillary Clinton has probably never sat down and seen what an abortion procedure is,” Lila said. We say the word, but what is it? What is “abortion”? At the Summit, Lila gave meaning to abortion, showing the crowd a condensed version of Live Action’s “What is Human?” video. The crowd audibly responded throughout the video and loved little Toby, the star.
Lila noted that, after the SCOTUS decision in Whole Women’s Health that ordered the state of Texas to lift health-related restrictions on abortion clinics, Hillary Clinton wrote about abortion, calling it a “woman’s health decision.” The Democratic presidential nominee opined that the right to abortion is rock solid, among “the other values we hold dear.”
But, as the “What is Human?” video demonstrates, and as Lila reminded the crowd, rather than being “safe, legal and rare” – a favorite catchphrase of Clinton – abortion is “prevalent all over our country and certainly not safe for our littlest humans.”
As we “care passionately about the littlest ones, the weakest ones in the country,” Lila said that we must ask, “Where is the heartbeat of the problem? What is the source of the problem?” She asserted that the problem is rooted in lies that are constantly told to us and to our nation. In order to confront the injustice of abortion, Lila told the attendees it is essential for us to tackle and unmask these lies.
One lie is that “abortion is medically necessary.” Lila discussed the Dublin Declaration. “1,000 medical professionals in Ireland penned the Dublin Declaration,” and “I,000 medical professions are saying that [abortion] is never necessary…we must, and we can care for them both.” Through the facts laid out in this Declaration, Ireland is“facing the pro-abortion lobby” and, Lila said, the information provided is key for all of us “to unmask the lies.”
Lila reminded the crowd of the importance of diligently unmasking the lies for the upcoming generation. She noted that there are people who are taught to believe being pro-choice is smart; there are many who don’t think about the issue of abortion every day. We can – and we must – take on the lies for them and make the truth readily available.
Lila also discussed how Planned Parenthood operates its abortion business and roots it in lies. Over nearly a decade of investigating America’s abortion chain, Live Action has gathered accurate information regarding how Planned Parenthood treats women in crisis and vulnerable young girls. Over a dozen times, Lila said, Live Action investigators have found “the cover-up of child sexual abuse” and the “coverup of human sex trafficking.” Planned Parenthood also participates in the “worldwide war on girls” where there are “over a hundred million missing girls,” aborted simply based on their gender. Lila explained: “Planned Parenthood who claims to speak for women, we’ve observed them…specifically saying they could arrange the abortion of a baby girl.”
Planned Parenthood spreads deeply rooted lies through its marketing and development programs. Lila said that “over $100 million a year” is spent here, and that a huge part of the chain’s mission is telling the lies that compel women to come to them.
Thanks to the brave stories of women who speak out, Lila explained that we know “abortion doesn’t empower, abortion doesn’t free, but abortion leaves a lifetime of pain afterwards.” Despite what Planned Parenthood would say, when a woman walks into an abortion facility, she “wasn’t feeling powerful, she was feeling powerless.” “Abortions building off the suffering of women in their most vulnerable moments,” and this is a truth many don’t realize.
Lila also hit on the lies liberal feminists like Hillary Clinton tell our society. They say we need abortion, but, “How dare they say that to us and turn us against our own flesh and blood? We demand better. We deserve better as women, as a society – to see our children not as a threat, but as a gift.” Lila explained that “3,000 children are meeting this fate [abortion] in our country every day. It’s done in the name of women’s liberation, and we know it is the exact opposite.”
And even when the Supreme Court makes anti-life decisions or pro-abortion politicians are elected, Lila reminded us that we still have an important job to do:
The Supreme Court represents and reflects the culture; politics represents and reflects the culture. The heart and soul battle of this country goes down to the individual heart and mind…the operational beliefs they have, and reaching those people one heart and one soul at a time. Our fight really is in the trenches of the streets of this country to share the truth in love…to share the dignity of the person that nothing can violate – that there’s nothing more important than the dignity of the person, than the protection of the person.
“Written in the human heart,” Lila told the crowd, “is respect for love, is love for life. We say, anybody can change. …You might even have been an abortionist, but anybody can change. The truth is what’s going to set people free. The truth is what’s going to give people hope.”
There is work to do in our society in many areas, and there is plenty of injustice to tackle and many lies to unmask. But, Lila said, we have a priority: “We have to get it right about life. Then we can rebuild the society; then we can rebuild the family.”
She closed with a quote from the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. who firmly resisted “the lies being told about people of his race.”
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.
