Rochester calls on DOGE to stop tax-payers dollars for abortion: Protest to defund Planned Parenthood is among the nearly 100 nationwide

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March 31, 2025

Rochester calls on DOGE to stop tax-payers dollars for abortion: Protest to defund Planned Parenthood is among the nearly 100 nationwide

Brighton, NY  -  One of 78 nationwide events calling for the defunding of the abortion giant Planned Parenthood will take place at its new facility in Brighton, New York.    

“Say no to funding abortion”

 Wednesday, April 2nd, 11am – 12: 30

Corner of Westfall Road and South Clinton Ave., Brighton, NY

April 2, is in conjunction with the United States Supreme Court hearing of oral arguments in the case of Kerr v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic concerning state funding for abortions.  The protest calls for Planned Parenthood to be stripped of all federal funding in DOGE and in the Congressional Budget being voted on this week.  Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion chain, receives nearly $700 million in taxpayer funding every year. A recent New York Times expose, Botched Care and Tired Staff: Planned Parenthood in Crisis, found the abortion giant spends more resources lobbying in Washington DC than providing services for women.   Planned Parenthood provides less than 1% of annual pap tests and breast exams, but performs 42% of annual abortions in the U.S.  Numerous court cases re: shielding child predators, defrauding Medicaid, and harvesting fetal tissue for profit have contributed to the abortion conglomerate’s crisis in staff morale. 

According to Cecelia Lester, Brighton Residents Against Violence to Everyone (BRAVE), the effort locally to defund Planned Parenthood has nothing to do with taking real healthcare away from women. “The city’s healthcare directory lists nine Federally Qualified Health Care Centers in the Rochester area that provide all necessary reproductive non-abortion medical services including STD testing.” Says Lester. "Elective abortion is not healthcare. Most women seeking abortion do so because they need financial assistance. When abortion supporters insist abortion is healthcare they divert attention and resources away from the real needs which drive women to abortion.”  Further, Lester states, “We don’t see destroying women’s pre-born children as either healthy or charitable.” Feminists Choosing Life of New York concurs. “ No funding should be taken away from programs that help poor women and families.” says Carol Crossed, Vice-President of FCLNY. “ As a matter of fact, we want every dollar taken from Planned Parenthood to be redirected to health centers that provide a wider range of services and higher standard of care than Planned Parenthood, without doing abortions.”

Media Contacts

Cecelia Lester, Brighton Residents Against Abortion (BRAVE), ceceliahayes@yahoo.com.

 Carol Crossed, Feminist Choosing Life of New York, carolncrossed@gmail.com, (585)730-7808, (585) 473-6743