Pro-choice advocates rally in Las Vegas to protest bill before Congress

By Kyle B. Hansen

Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011 | 4:36 p.m.

The threat of rain sent them indoors, but about 40 people still gathered at the Planned Parenthood of Southern Nevada offices on Charleston Boulevard for a pro-choice rally Saturday.

The attendees were mostly women and mostly young, but the crowd included some men and older citizens who came to listen to speakers, including former Rep. Dina Titus, praise the organization and protest Congressional Republicans’ efforts to prohibit federal funding for abortions.

The rally was prompted by the introduction of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act in the House of Representatives. The bill would prohibit federal funds from being used for any health benefits that includes coverage of abortion.

In addition, the federal appropriations act already passed by the House eliminates all funding for Planned Parenthood services, including abortions, birth control and cancer screenings.

“That’s just not OK because family planning is health care. Abortion is health care and we need Planned Parenthood,” said Emmily Bristol, the event’s organizer. “I think we take it for granted that it’s always going to be there. We need to stand up right now and we need to say no more to what’s going on in the House.”

More than 50 similar rallies were planned in other cities across the country, organizers said.

Bristol said she thinks Las Vegas’ participation reflects well on the community.

“I think Las Vegas has a reputation of not being active or not caring and this shows how big our heart is, how much we are supporting Planned Parenthood,” she said.

Titus used the rally to attack the actions of Congress since she left two months ago.

“This new class in the House promised us that they were going to go back there and create jobs,” Titus said. “Well, they’ve done nothing to create jobs. In fact, some of the things they’ve done have cost us jobs.

“I’ll tell you what they have done,” she continued, “They have waged a war on women. … They have done more against women in the two months that they’ve been there than they did during the whole Bush administration, and that was a very anti-women administration.”

Dawn Christensen, who came to the event from her home in Henderson, said she hasn’t attended a pro-choice rally for a long time.

“It’s sad in 2011 that we’re still arguing over women’s health care,” she said. “I think it’s really sad that I have to be out here fighting to protect choice and fighting to protect women’s health.”

Local Planned Parenthood officials said they were grateful for the show of support.

“It’s just so nice to see the community coming together on behalf of Planned Parenthood and standing up for what we do,” said spokeswoman Annette Magnus. “These people are passionate, they came out on a Saturday afternoon. It’s really good to see.”