Anti-abortion activists rallied in Overland Park and around the country on Saturday calling for the federal government to defund Planned Parenthood.
#ProtestPP is a national coalition that wants to end all public funding for Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood provides health services for women and is also the nation's largest abortion provider.
Ron Kelsey with Planned Parenthood Exposed, Inc. helped organize the demonstration in front of the Planned Parenthood facility at 4801 W. 109th Street in Overland Park. The rally started at 9:00 a.m.
After Planned Parenthood Exposed announced their protest, hundreds of people turned out to show their support for Planned Parenthood.
"Any organization that kills innocent human beings doesn't deserve taxpayer money, and of course Planned Parenthood kills over 300,000 innocent human beings every year," said Kelsey.
According to Planned Parenthood, they received more than $500 million dollars in federal funding in 2014/2015. During that time period, 80 percent of its patients received services to prevent unintended pregnancies and three percent received abortions.
"For over 40 years, Planned Parenthood has been a trusted qualified provider under the Medicaid program. Our patients need us," said Laura McQuade, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. "We are an essential community provider, particularly for low-income and vulnerable communities."
Kelsey told 41 Action News that the protest's goal isn't to take funding away from programs that help poor women and families. He said every dollar taken from Planned Parenthood should be redirected to federally qualified health centers.
"The effort to de-fund Planned Parenthood has nothing to do with taking health care away from women. It's about taking tax dollars away from the nation's largest abortion chain," Kelsey said.
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