HUDSON — An appearance by a former leader of Planned Parenthood at the Hudson Library & Historical Society Sept. 24 drew a crowd from pro-life organizations and local churches who gathered outside the building to object to the program.



Cecile Richards, former president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, spoke to a standing-room-only audience Monday night at the library, 96 Library St. Richards, the daughter of late Texas Gov. Ann Richards, discussed her memoir, "Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead." She was joined by reporter and analyst M.L. Schultze.



About 30 to 35 members from pro-life organizations, including Right to Life of Northeast Ohio, stood outside in rainy weather along Library Street around 6:15 p.m., holding signs stating "Pray to end Abortion," "Planned Parenthood Betrays Women & Kills Babies," "Dads For Life," "Black Lives Matter, in the womb, too," "Cecile Richards profits from dead children," and "Life is a miracle, not a choice."



Denise Leipold, executive director of Right to Life of Northeast Ohio, said "roughly 80 pro-life advocates showed up to pray and hold peaceful signs of protest," and added about half of that group left the protest to attend the event inside.



A contingent from St. Mary Catholic Church also staged a prayerful vigil and walked in a procession that began at the church, circled around the outside of the library and returned to the church. The Rev. Scott Goodfellow, parochial vicar at St. Mary, estimated about 250 people participated in the procession.



"We gave a joyful witness to the gift of human life in the womb," Goodfellow said. "Thank you to all who joined in this witness and to those who prayed with us from afar. This was a beautiful moment our parish shared of being Catholic together and praying publicly for justice in our city."



Leipold said she was "really pleased" that a lot of people showed up "despite the rain."



"We don’t approve of Cecile Richards coming here because of what she stands for," Leipold said. "She says she’s for women’s health, but she’s not because women are harmed by abortion. Abortion is an injustice to the unborn. We’re going to peacefully protest."



Richards said she fully supports people being able to make their own healthcare decisions.



"I support access to affordable health care and I think that crosses over all kinds of lines," she said. "I’m always open to talk to anybody."



About six to seven women gathered outside the library near the pro-life groups in support of Richards’ appearance, privately funded by the Libby Walker Endowment, which funds the Libby Walker Women’s Series, according to Hudson Library Executive Director and Curator E. Leslie Polott.



Emily Berry said she has supported Planned Parenthood since she was 18 years old.



"They helped me out when I was a young girl and I want to make sure everyone else has the same access to quality, affordable health care," Berry said.



Pam Zedak, who held a sign that said "I stand with Planned Parenthood," noted, "We can respect peoples’ right to express their religious convictions. We really need the religious right to come to terms with our fundamental right to sovereignty over our bodies and reproductive choices."



Joe Daltorio, pastor of River of Life Community Church in Hudson, said he believes people have a right to express their opinion, but hoped the Library Board would reconsider allowing a pro-life speaker to present at the library. He held a sign that read, "Hudson Shame Library."



"[Richards] is very controversial," said Daltorio. "She’s very accomplished. I give her that. She’s very well-spoken, but we disagree with her opinion and feel that Planned Parenthood has done a lot of damage. We’ve counseled a lot of women that have had abortions and they regret it because they were not properly counseled."



In addition to Right to Life of Northeast Ohio, members of Cleveland Right to Life, Lake County Right to Life, Silent No More and several churches gathered outside.



Christy Ballor, the Ohio regional coordinator of Silent No More Awareness Campaign, and held a sign that said "I regret my abortion," said, "I know the pain of those like myself and I want to stop it. Not only stop the killing, but stop the horrible wounding of women because it is not health care. It’s unnatural."



"I would say it’s the number one issue in the world today," said Ed Meholick. "If you don’t have the right to life, you have no rights whatsoever."



Vicki Hoskins, who said she has two young daughters, said she believes "Planned Parenthood is the most important thing."



She said she’s seen Richards speak in the past, and echoed the library’s mission of "intellectual freedom."



"I think it’s important that we brought her to our town," Hoskins said.



Reporter Phil Keren can be reached at 330-541-9421, pkeren@recordpub.com, or on Twitter at @keren_phil.