Midland, Texas—May 7, 2018: This month, Texas Right to Life will gather with Pro-Life supporters in the Midland and Odessa region. The Fourth Annual Permian Basin Celebration of Life will be held May 18, 2018, at the Midland Country Club in Midland, Texas. Previous years have been a successful celebration of the statewide organization and an opportunity to partner more closely with local activists.
Pro-Life supporters in West Texas were recently galvanized by an announcement from the abortion lobby. Earlier this year, news broke that an anonymous donor has pledged $9 million to fund a new Planned Parenthood affiliate in the region. West Texas has been without the abortion business Planned Parenthood since 2013. Pro-Life activists prayerfully demonstrated at Planned Parenthood locations in Midland and San Angelo for years before they closed in 2013. The news that the nation’s largest abortion chain will be returning to West Texas was not welcome for many in these close-knit communities.
Pro-Life Texans know that Planned Parenthood is not necessary for women’s health care; a growing body of evidence confirms this. In 2011, Texas removed Planned Parenthood from the state family planning program so that the abortion business would no longer receive fungible dollars from Texas taxpayers. Since then, abortions and unintended pregnancies decreased and Texas has made strides to improve maternal mortality and morbidity.
Planned Parenthood has not yet announced the planned location of the new facilities in West Texas and has not indicated if those facilities will commit abortions or only refer for them. Although nationally Planned Parenthood chose to decrease prenatal care and cancer screenings, Texans have made women’s health a priority. Texas legislators created and have continually expanded the Healthy Texas Women Program and the Texas Pregnancy Care Network, showing that women in West Texas and anywhere in the state of Texas do not need the abortion business Planned Parenthood for health care.
As in previous years, Texas Right to Life’s Permian Basin Celebration of Life will include updates on the statewide education programs and updates on legislative efforts. This year, the event will also be an opportunity to rally Pro-Life citizens concerned with the encroachment of Planned Parenthood. The committed Pro-Life community members successfully booted Planned Parenthood from West Texas once before, and they plan to once again.
For information on the Permian Basin Celebration of Life and to purchase tickets, visit www.TexasRighttoLife.com/event/pbcol18/.