To mark the end of a “week of action” by liberal activists in Ohio, Planned Parenthood is asking its supporters to participate in a prayer vigil and rally on the steps of the state capitol Thursday afternoon.
“Ohio faith leaders will culminate a week of prayer on issues that affect all Ohioans on Thursday,” the abortion group wrote on their invitation to the event. “Join Planned Parenthood supporters and faith leaders from across Ohio at a Statehouse prayer rally.”
The “week of action” was spurred on by the Rev. William Barber, a self-described “progressive” preacher from North Carolina who uses his faith to justify support for abortion-on-demand, ObamaCare, same-sex “marriage” and other liberal causes via his “Moral Mondays” campaign – a lobbying effort designed to roll back conservative policies in the name of God. The activist preacher calls such policies “morally indefensible” and says that pro-life, pro-family activists are “extremists” who “focus on about five scripture readings” at the expense of social justice.
In Ohio, Planned Parenthood has been present at prayer vigils throughout the week asking for God’s blessing on their abortion agenda. An invitation to Thursday’s rally asked supporters to RSVP by signing a form stating: “I am a person of faith and I understand how my religion calls on us to protect the health care, including reproductive health, for all Ohioans.”
Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, told LifeSiteNews he was appalled that Planned Parenthood would try to use religion to promote its agenda, and called Thursday’s prayer rally a “stunt.”
“It is a tragedy that Planned Parenthood would prostitute Biblical teachings for their own political gain,” Gonidakis said. “The abortion industry continues to lose enormous ground in Ohio due to reprehensible stunts like this. Make no mistake, Ohio is a Midwestern state with Midwestern values which include loving our neighbor and extending a helping hand to women in need. The only thing Planned Parenthood peddles is abortion-on-demand and we all know that leads to nothing further than a dead-end.”
The rally was scheduled to take place at 4:30 PM on Thursday, on the 3rd Street steps of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.