By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana Baptists and others from the pro-life community are urging prayer and action to prevent the construction of a New Orleans Planned Parenthood abortion facility.
After a May 2013 groundbreaking ceremony at the site on South Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans, construction on the facility has yet to begin. If built, the 8,000-square-foot facility originally scheduled for completion this year would become Planned Parenthood’s first location in the state to perform abortions.
Since its announcement, those opposed to the facility have voice opinions through letters to the editor, on-site protests and campaigns.
Not long after the groundbreaking, Franklin Avenue Baptist in New Orleans hosted a city-wide rally where community faith-based leaders educated the area on Planned Parenthood and also prayed.
Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist, said that the facility represents an example of spiritual warfare to destroy lives all over the United States.
“To me it’s a trap for these young ladies who may feel abortion is the only option,” he said. “And we know it’s not.
“That’s what we are trying to share, that there is an option,” he continued. “I ask the body of Christ to pray.”
The event at Franklin Avenue Baptist was organized by NOLA Needs Peace Coalition, which has spent more than $100,000 to fight the issue.
Sarah Jones Zagorski, communications director for Louisiana Right to Life which runs the NOLA Needs Peace Coalition campaign, encouraged those wanting to participate in the effort to stop the facility’s construction should visit NOLANEEDSPEACE.com.
“Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion business, performing over 330,000 abortions in 2011 alone,” Zagorski said. “If this facility is built, it will have the potential to double the abortion rate in Orleans Parish. It is our responsibility as the hands and feet of Christ to protect our city by reminding everyone that more Planned Parenthood equals more abortion.”
Recently, Archbishop Gregory Aymond wrote a letter in the Clarion-Herald, a newspaper of the Archdiocese on New Orleans that was distributed to all Catholic churches in the area. In the letter, Aymond said the Archdiocese will boycott any business or person playing a part in helping the Planned Parenthood facility come to fruition. According to the Archidocese office, 500,818 Catholics reside in the New Orleans-area parishes of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany and Washington.
“Planned Parenthood is committed to ensuring women across this state get the health care they need to stay healthy and the information to make responsible health decisions,” said Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast spokeswoman Rochelle Tafolla in a Feb. 3 report on WWL.com, a New Orleans news website. “Planned Parenthood will continue to do everything possible to ensure that women and men in Louisiana have access to the full range of reproductive health care they need.”
Zagorski said that while Planned Parenthood claims that abortion constitutes a small percentage of their services, she believes an unorthodox calculation underlies that statistic.
“Planned Parenthood’s 3 percent calculation equally weighs all products and services; for example, the calculation counts a condom, a pregnancy test and a $468 abortion each as one service, no matter the cost or the magnitude of that service,” she said. “This is misleading and, as in any financial exercise, the correct assessment is a dollar-weighed one.”