Planned Parenthood is doubling down on their efforts to have an anti-Life presence in West Texas. Last month, Planned Parenthood placed billboard advertisements for “Planned Parenthood Direct”, their new telemedicine mobile app, throughout West Texas, including three advertisements in Abilene. This is cause for concern, because these billboards may signal the abortion giant reestablishing a physical presence in West Texas sooner rather than later.
Planned Parenthood Direct is not currently available across the United States, but is available in Texas. The telemedicine app ships birth control methods directly to women, with the notable exception of emergency contraception, which acts as an abortifacient by creating a toxic and deadly environment for the preborn child in the earliest stages of development. However, Planned Parenthood Direct does provide information on where to access such abortifacient drugs, and the app states that they are continuously working to add new drugs to their offering. Developments in telemedicine are great innovations that enable rural Texans to access the healthcare they need from wherever they live, but should not be abused to expand access to the ability to kill tiny Texans.
This billboard campaign highlights the fact that there has been no Planned Parenthood clinic in Abilene since the previous clinic closed in 2012. Since mid-2018, there has been concern that Planned Parenthood has schemes of moving back into Abilene. Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas received an anonymous donation of $9 million last year for the explicit purpose of building two West Texas clinics. One location has already re-opened in El Paso, and though the location of the second clinic is yet unclear, Abilene is a prime target, being the location of a former Planned Parenthood, as well as seven different colleges and universities. While the recent splash of Planned Parenthood billboards in Abilene signal that this plausible threat may soon become a reality, neither the mayor nor members of Abilene City Council responded to requests for comment on the threat of Planned Parenthood moving back into their community, and what the new billboards might signify.
If this is indeed what Planned Parenthood is plotting, Abilene citizens may not know until too late. Earlier this month, Planned Parenthood announced the opening of a mega-clinic in southern Illinois that had been secretly constructed over the past year. To keep construction of the clinic under wraps, Planned Parenthood used a shell company, preventing the community from discovering that the abortion provider was moving in until the time to take action had already passed. This example not only illustrates the deceitful manner in which the abortion industry operates, but also how communities will not necessarily receive advance warning of the abortion giant’s presence. To set up shop in Illinois, Planned Parenthood had to go through the arduous process of constructing a facility; however, this will not always be the case in other cities where Planned Parenthood could take advantage of a building already constructed and available. Texas is a strategic target for the abortion industry, and Texas cities are not only unrealistic but also naive if they assume there will be sufficient time to react defensively to the news of an abortion provider moving into their towns.
To prevent the industry of death from profiting off of their communities, Pro-Life Texans must be proactive.
The risk of Planned Parenthood moving back into their community should motivate Pro-Life citizens of Abilene and the Abilene City Council to act now while they still can to pass an ordinance declaring their city a Sanctuary City for the Unborn. By passing this ordinance, the city of Abilene would join six other Texas cities in protecting themselves from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood setting up shop in their city. They could immediately provide legal protection for their preborn citizens, take a bold stance for Life at the local level, and prevent the sad state of affairs in Illinois from becoming a reality in Texas too.
