Over 20 abortions performed during event
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) was held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois from August 19 to August 22. Lost in much of the headlines surrounding the convention was the appearance of a Planned Parenthood “mobile clinic” parked near the United Center for the first two days of the event.
The clinic, positioned only blocks away from the convention, has become a focal point in the ongoing abortion debate across the country. For two days, the Planned Parenthood mobile unit provided its procedures by appointment, free of charge. Their stated goal was to assist individuals who had traveled to Illinois from states with stringent abortion restrictions or outright bans following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade. According to Planned Parenthood, between 20 and 30 patients obtained abortions at the clinic during this period.
Although not officially connected to the convention, the location and timing of the mobile clinic drew significant attention. The move comes as Democrats shift attention and messaging to expanding abortion access ahead of the November elections.
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the subsequent surge in support for loosening restrictions on the procedure, abortion has emerged as one of the most potent political issues for the Democratic Party. As an example of the increasing salience of this issue, abortion went unmentioned in President Biden’s acceptance speech at the DNC, as well as Vice President Harris’s in 2020. This year, however, the issue took center stage, culminating with Harris questioning why pro-lifers “don’t trust women” in her keynote speech.
Convention organizers even dedicated an entire segment to abortion, featuring three women sharing their personal obstacles to abortion access in the aftermath of the 2022 Supreme Court decision to repeal Roe v. Wade.
The presence of the mobile clinic provoked significant backlash. Separated from the clinic by a fence, a crowd of protesters gathered in support of the unborn. The protesters arrived the second morning of the DNC with an alternative van containing an ultrasound machine and abortion pill reversal medication.
One of the protesters, John Mize, the CEO of Americans United for Life, attempted to speak with several women entering the Planned Parenthood van about their options.
Mize spoke with Fox News Digital after the demonstration, telling them that abortion is “a very serious and complex issue that’s being trivialized by Planned Parenthood.” Mize was adamant that the gravity of the abortion issue was being diminished and disrespected. “This is a very complicated, very complex decision that these women are making, and unfortunately, it’s a carnival. They have blow-ups. They have food trucks. It’s a bit of a show, unfortunately, and it diminishes the severity and significance of vulnerable women.”
Notre Dame Right to Life President Emerita Merlot Fogarty told the Rover that “this incident confirms that the Democratic Party has fully embraced an identity as the party of death.” She continued that “it has never been more important for the Notre Dame community to stand firm in their conviction that every human life is made in the image of God and deserves protection and love. In a nation where women are told they are not free without abortion, we must look to Our Lady, who proclaimed a resounding yes to bear the child Jesus, with the knowledge that motherhood is one of the noblest of vocations.”
Pro-Life Notre Dame students expressed a similar discontent with the continued normalization of abortion within American politics. Junior Eric Gordy told the Rover that he felt the presence of the clinic was indicative of how abortion “has become sacrosanct in modern liberalism.”
As shocking as such a display of disregard for human life was to many pro-life students, Gordy suggested that it should not be surprising, arguing, “On-demand abortion outside the DNC is nothing more than the logical extension of the ideology espoused inside the convention, and Catholic Americans should keep that in mind when heading to the ballot box.”
Sophomore Jack Docherty echoed Gordy’s sentiments, highlighting the broader erosion of basic Christian morality within the United States. “The profoundly evil procedure of abortion continues to shock the consciences of millions of Christian Americans,” Docherty told the Rover. He added that he felt the messaging around abortion within American politics was a clear example of the depravity revealing the “capture of America’s soul.”
Notre Dame College Democrats did not respond to a request for comment.
Owen Lynn is a junior studying political science and theology. Email him at olynn2@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Subscribe to the Irish Rover here.
Donate to the Irish Rover here.
