Approximately 40 supporters of the pro-life movement and 40 supporters of the pro-choice movement gather at the Planned Parenthood clinic at 1055 Commonwealth Ave. Saturday morning to rally for their cause.
The pro-life supporters, organized by 40 Days for Life Boston and Helpers of God’s Precious Infants, and pro-choice supporters who are organized by the Coalition to Organize and Mobilize Boston Against Trump, held up homemade signs and chanted loudly as the two sides are split by officers from Boston Police Department.
The pro-life rally conducted prayers, rosaries and sang various hymns, while the counter-protesters led chants such as “Pro-life men, you’ve got to go. When you get pregnant, let us know.”
As the protests proceeds, Planned Parenthood volunteers stood outside the clinic, ready to guide patients inside.
BPD officers and Planned Parenthood volunteers declined to comment, but remained a visible presence throughout the protest.
Several pro-life protesters said they came to save the lives of unborn children, as well as to support President Donald Trump’s administration’s stance on the issue of abortion.
Thomas Harvey, 60, of Belmont, said he comes to this Planned Parenthood location on the second Saturday of every month for a rosary vigil.
“We are looking to save unborn babies, to pray for the women and the workers in there,” Harvey said. “We are definitely pro-life.”
Don Bryant, 67, of Pembroke, said he feels confident in his pro-life stance particularly because Vice President Mike Pence has shown support for the pro-life movement.
“This is what we do as Americans,” Bryant said of the protest. “We stand and talk and we raise our voices sometimes, but ultimately we decide together.”
Emma Jean Middendorf, a language teacher at Sacred Heart High School in Kingston, said the counter-protesters’ chants were disruptive to their prayers and police should tell the counter-protesters to disperse.
“I don’t think we should be killing children,” Middendorf said. “They’re the future of our society. These people think life isn’t important. They think a child’s life is nothing.”
Several of the counter-protesters, such as Jill Olive, 61, of Needham, said they support the pro-choice movement because they believe women should be able to take full advantage of the services Planned Parenthood offers.
“The government shouldn’t play a part [in women’s healthcare decisions],” Olive said.
Kristen Martin, 25, of Fenway, said she was passionate about defending Planned Parenthood.
“Especially in this moment where you have Trump from the top echelons of power trying to tamper women’s rights to the side, I think it’s important to come out and confront these right-wing bigots … and defend women’s right to choose no matter what,” Martin said. “[Protests have] shut down these types of actions in the past and are the only thing that will continue to do so in the future.”
Lauren Scully, 30, of Somerville, said she has been a long-time supporter of Planned Parenthood.
“I come from a very conservative town in Texas, and I would pass by [a Planned Parenthood] clinic every day to go to school,” Scully said. “There would be these people outside harassing women going in and trying to get healthcare, and it made me so angry one day that I went in and asked how I could help out.”
Scully said every woman can benefit from Planned Parenthood’s services.
“This is a political environment that is getting a lot more hostile and I think our rights are in jeopardy, more so than they have been,” Scully said. “I’m out here to support the women that need this clinic … and our ability to make good choices for ourselves, for our own bodies and for our own fates.”
