After a shooting spree at a clinic in Colorado, a conservative Florida group has postponed a rally that had been scheduled next week to protest government funding for Planned Parenthood.
The Orlando-based Florida Family Policy Council, sponsor of the “Florida Taxpayer Rally to Defund Planned Parenthood,” said the Dec. 7 event at the Florida Capitol will take place in the spring instead.
“This violent and horrifying act by someone who has a troubling and violent past is in complete opposition to the pro-life cause,” John Stemberger, the council’s president, said in a statement. “We believe that we must continue promoting the pro-life message and reiterate the concern we have for every human life, including the victims of this tragedy.”
The shootings Friday killed a police officer who responded to the scene, a mother of two and an Iraq war veteran.
Nine others were wounded. Robert Lewis Dear, 57, was expected to appear in court late Monday afternoon to face charges.
However, Stemberger said, “We also admonish those on the other side of this issue who are attempting to use this tragedy for their own political gains.”
The rally had been aimed at Gov. Rick Scott, despite his opposition to abortion, because Stemberger contends that Scott could do more to cut Planned Parenthood’s funding.
Planned Parenthood, which offers reproductive-health and other services, has been under fire for months after the release of controversial videos by the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress.
After Scott saw the videos in July, officials from the state Agency for Health Care Administration inspected and issued fines against five abortion clinics — including three Planned Parenthood clinics — citing them for illegally performing second-trimester abortions.
The clinics deny the charges, contending that the state altered its definition of a first trimester in order to justify the administrative actions.
But Stemberger has argued for months that Scott could do more to cut Planned Parenthood’s funding, “through Florida’s contract with Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid provider and through Title X (federal family planning) funding, which six other governors and states have discontinued.”