Giacomo Bologna

GBOLOGNA@NEWS-LEADER.COM

About 50 people held signs, cheered and prayed outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Springfield Saturday morning, as a part of rally to "defund" the national nonprofit health organization.

News outlets reported that similar rallies — as well as counterprotests — were scheduled to take place Saturday across the country.

Attendees, who lined Battlefield Road in south Springfield, told the News-Leader they support women having access to health care, but they don't want taxpayer money funding abortions.

USA Today reported on Jan. 17 that Planned Parenthood received $553.7 million in government funding in 2014. The majority of the money comes by way of reimbursement for services the centers provide to Medicaid patients. While Planned Parenthood does perform abortions, the government funds are not allowed to be used to pay for them except in cases of rape or incest or when a woman’s life is in danger.

The rally Saturday was organized by Bears for Life, a Missouri State University student group, and organizers were pleased with the turnout.

MSU student Abbie Hebron said she was initially expecting only members of the student group to attend and was happy to see members of the community turn out.

Hebron said she is anti-abortion because she nearly lost her life to an incorrect diagnosis and a doctor's recommendation.

"My mom was actually supposed to abort me," she said. "I was supposed to have Down syndrome."

But Hebron said her mother found a new doctor and "chose life."

She said she thinks the majority of people at MSU and Springfield lean toward being anti-abortion, but "it's just not a popular opinion to have in the media or in society."

However, Hebron said she expects Roe v. Wade — the Supreme Court ruling that found abortions legal — will be overturned in her lifetime.

"We are the pro-life generation," she said.

Rep. Curtis Trent, R-Springfield, attended the rally, saying he heard about it through word-of-mouth.

"We've done everything we can at the state to defund (Planned Parenthood)," Trent said.

The state representative said he was heartened to see that the rally was organized by a college student group.

"There's been a moral reawakening among young people," Trent said.

Springfield resident Mark Kiser, 53, attended the rally and was also impressed by the number of young people present.

He said Planned Parenthood does good by providing health care for women, but that doesn't make up for doing what he believes is bad — abortion.

"No way should my taxpayer money be funding abortions," he said.

The News-Leader reported in November that the Springfield clinic of Planned Parenthood offers preventive care and abortion referrals, but has never provided abortion services.

However, a lawsuit could change that.

Two Planned Parenthood branches in Missouri filed a lawsuit in federal court last year disputing requirements for health clinics to be licensed as surgical centers and for doctors who provide abortions to have certain privileges at a nearby hospital.

Saturday's rally to "Defund Planned Parenthood" came a few weeks after the Women's March on Washington, which had similar marches nationwide, including one in Springfield which drew more than 2,000 people.

Hebron said some anti-abortion activists felt excluded from the marches, but, for the most part, anti-abortion and abortion-rights activists both advocate for women's equality and empowering women.

She said both groups actually share a lot of common ground.

"I don't get why we can't get along and work this out," Hebron said.

Throughout the rally, motorists driving by honked horns and waved.

At one point during the rally, attendees began praying the Hail Mary.

A young man walked past the group on the sidewalk and yelled: "You people are all douche bags."

The group kept praying.