From John Pisciotta, Director
Pro-Life Waco
1. Second Sunday gathering: thanksgiving for closing of Planned Parenthood abortuary.
2. Sunday venture in Austin for demonstration at Planned Parenthood annual banquet.
Sunday, November 10! Wow, the pro-life movement in Waco has had some big days. This may be the biggest. During the noon hour, we will come together for our Second Sunday Pro-Life Gathering at St. Mary’s Parish Hall for a terrific meal. Can you smell the sausage simmering in Mama Rosa’s sauce? Then from 1 to 2 we will have our action-planning meeting and give thanks for the closing of the Waco Planned Parenthood abortuary, which was announced on Halloween. We know that it has been closed since the end of August. After we meet, plan, and give thanks it will be time for all who can to follow “Carolyn” the pro-life billboard truck to Austin.
Pro-Life Waco is organizing a demonstration for the occasion of the Austin Planned Parenthood fundraising banquet at the Austin Renaissance Hotel. The demonstration will be from 4:30 to 6 p.m. A carpool will depart for Austin from the St. Mary’s Waco parking lot at 2:30 p.m. (No charge.) We will be meeting pro-life friends from the Austin area for the event. Signs—none showing aborted babies--will be available. Meal and fellowship at a nearby restaurant will be provided by Pro-Life Waco after the demonstration. For information and to reserve a spot in the car pool, contact John Pisciotta by responding to this email or calling 254-644-0407. Last year about 25 joined for this special “greeting” for the big-dollar abortion supporters. You are welcome to go on your own.
Please read my essay entitled, “Why we should demonstrate to challenge Planned Parenthood events.” Your can read a PDF file by clicking here at http://www.prolifewaco.com/News.html
Or your can read below.
Why should we demonstrate to challenge Planned Parenthood events?
John Pisciotta, Director of Pro-Life Waco
November 6, 2013
I write days before our demonstration on November 10 at the Austin Renaissance Hotel for the annual banquet benefitting Planned Parenthood Austin (part of Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas). The banquet, which they claim will raise over $600,000, will feature the liberal columnist, Ellen Goodman.
This is the third year that pro-lifers from the Waco and Austin areas have come together in November to challenge those attending this event. Our demonstration includes “Carolyn” the billboard truck as well as Carolyn Knowles for whom the truck is named.
A couple days ago, I mention the demonstration to a pro-life friend. With a skeptical look, he asked, “Really, what's the point?” The question caught me off guard since we have demonstrated against Planned Parenthood in Waco so many times. I may have forgotten reasons why.
Our public challenges have included over 20 years at an annual Planned Parenthood youth program called Nobody's Fool, their educational seminars for adults, and Planned Parenthood social events. In March of 2012, Planned Parenthood organized a Texas bus tour called “Rally to Defend Women’s Health.” For the Waco rally on March 7, seventy-five came out for our counter-demonstration. This was as many as were there for Planned Parenthood!
Planned Parenthood in Waco has never had a fundraising event. The reason may be that they feel so embattled.
The sincere question of my friend deserves a better answer than I was able to give on the spot. I take as a starting point the strategic framework I learned from Priests for Life founder, Father Frank Pavone. According to Father Frank,
1. We must neutralize the hostile.
2. We must convert the neutral.
3. We must activate the converted.
4. We must organize the activated.
Consider these points one at a time.
1. We must neutralize the hostile.
The hostile opposition to the pro-life movement will certainly be there for the Austin banquet. This single demonstration may not neutralize anyone attending. However, folks on their side (and on ours) are generally averse to involvement in controversy. If we do not demonstrate at all, we give Planned Parenthood supporters a pass for rubbing shoulders with the nation’s #1 abortion provider.
A series of demonstrations against Planned Parenthood may well neutralize some of the hostile as they realize involvement with Planned Parenthood is likely to arouse public opposition. After two decades of pro-life challenges to the Nobody’s Fool teen sex program, Planned Parenthood terminated the event in 2013.
2. We must convert the neutral.
For those who are neutral, we want to present the pro-life message in a winning and powerful fashion. In addition to “the hostile” attending a Planned Parenthood event, many more “neutrals” will see the demonstration. Few people are willing to demonstrate for any cause these days. Our demonstration sends a powerful message to the neutral when they think, “By golly, those folks must really believe in something since they're willing to come out and publicly present their views. I wonder why.” This response is raised “to the second power” when we demonstrate in inclement weather. The wheels start to turn in their minds. By the grace of God, we believe conversion is possible.
Going back to Nobody’s Fool, we have had cases where moms planning to bring children to the conference ended up holding OUR signs, going back to retrieve their children, or joining us for a post-demonstration brunch.
3. We must activate the converted.
The majority of people in our communities and certainly in our churches are converted to the pro-life cause. We want them to have the blessing of being active. Different people are likely to become involved in different types of events. We want to offer the converted a variety of opportunities for pro-life engagement. While public demonstrations may not be the ticket for many, there are those who welcome the challenge, excitement, fellowship and the occasional honor of being ridiculed for defending the children Jesus loves so much.
4. We must organize the activated.
So yes, with the Austin banquet demonstration and other Planned Parenthood events, it is worthwhile to organize the activated. For the Austin demonstration, we are inviting broadly by snail mail, email, social media and personal contacts. Signs will be provided. We will encourage engagement with the hostile and neutral in a calm and courteous manner. Such engagements are a big opportunity for any public demonstration.
With my Italian-American heritage, I always try to remember that food and fellowship are important. At 6 p.m., when the demonstration is over, we will go to a nearby hamburger restaurant to get to know each other better and to enjoy new friendships.
Are demonstrations to oppose Planned Parenthood the key to success for local pro-life activism? I won’t go that far. Still, demonstrations are a vital part of our arsenal. Absolutely, we must engage in prayer and sidewalk counseling at Planned Parenthood. Pregnancy care centers must offer alternatives to moms threatened by Planned Parenthood. Yard signs, billboards, and billboard trucks are great. We can do our part to support local, state and national pro-life legislation. Educational events are so important. Pro-life fundraising banquets are inspirational. Additionally, public demonstrations can show the sordid reality of Planned Parenthood, can bring discomfort to those involved with Planned Parenthood, and can welcome the converted to the pro-life cause as prodigal sons and daughters.
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