In This Issue

• Pro-Life Hero Bishop John W. Yanta Goes to His Eternal Reward
• ALL’s 2021 Planned Parenthood Facilities Report: Fewer Facilities, Soaring Abortion Pill Use
• Taxpayer Money Earmarked for Planned Parenthood May Go to Homeless Youth and Women Instead
• Pro-Lifers Dominate Waco City Council Meeting

Pro-Life Hero Bishop John W. Yanta Goes to His Eternal Reward

By Rita Diller

American Life League mourns the passing of Bishop Emeritus John W. Yanta, who passed away Saturday, August 6, in his San Antonio home after a long battle with numerous ailments. He was 90. Services will be held in Amarillo and San Antonio, with burial in Panna Maria, Texas. 

Bishop Yanta was a true friend and often consulted with STOPP. I was privileged to work alongside him for his 12 years as bishop of the diocese. Together we implemented prayer vigils at the Planned Parenthood facilities within the diocese, and over a 13-year period we saw all of them shut down.

As editor of the diocesan newspaper, The West Texas Catholic, I interviewed Bishop Yanta as he left the diocese following his retirement in 2008. Speaking of his years of involvement in the pro-life movement, he said: 

I had a Johnny-come-lately start with the pro-life movement during the early nineties, while I was a parish priest in San Antonio. That led to my arrest at New Women’s Center on the 20^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, January 22, 1993. That was a turning point for me and many collaborators.

When I arrived in Amarillo, I could not believe there were 19 Planned Parenthood centers in the geographical boundaries of our diocese. I was already convinced that the greatest power on earth is prayer and I knew this must be given over to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The rosary would be the solution.

So we had groups of people begin praying the rosary on the sidewalk outside these facilities. And it happened so quickly that these facilities shut down with only one remaining open today—you have to attribute that to the Holy Spirit’s power.

That one remaining Planned Parenthood facility had changed its name and severed ties with Planned Parenthood Federation of America within the year following Bishop Yanta’s retirement. 

American Life League’s nationwide program to pray the rosary at Planned Parenthood facilities was modeled after the Amarillo Diocese outreach. ALL’s program is known as Bringing Jesus to Planned Parenthood through Mary. It will officially merge with our Marian Blue Wave program and is set to be relaunched in October of this year as we reconsecrate our work to our Blessed Mother. More information will follow soon. 

ALL’s 2021 Planned Parenthood Facilities Report: Fewer Facilities, Soaring Abortion Pill Use

Planned Parenthood has historically judged its strength by the number of facilities it operates. Having more facilities means a wider customer base and being accessible to the rural and remotely located women to whom it claims to provide healthcare. It also means ease of implementing its harmful programs in communities and influencing communities and women in tough situations toward abortion. But its customer base has fallen and stagnated, and Planned Parenthood has a history of closing rural and remote facilities. Judging by the strength-in-number-of-facilities standard, the abortion giant is spiraling downward. 

American Life League began a very successful nationwide campaign to pray the rosary at Planned Parenthood facilities across the nation in 2008, on the heels of the successful campaign in Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle, which ended with the closure of 19 Planned Parenthood facilities in the top 26 counties of Texas. After STOPP’s campaign began nationwide, Planned Parenthood shut down 284 facilities over the next 13 years. By the end of 2021, it had dwindled to 567 facilities—40% fewer than it had at its peak in 1995.

But as the abortion giant decreased its total facilities, it has dramatically increased its use of the abortion pill. Its DIY abortion pill business, which unwittingly puts women in charge of aborting their own children, enabled it to reach an all-time high of 354,871 abortions in 2019—the most recent year for which it has reported numbers. The abortion pill comes with an FDA boxed warning that begins, “WARNING: SERIOUS AND SOMETIMES FATAL INFECTIONS AND BLEEDING.”

According to our research, in 2021 Planned Parenthood operated 55% of all abortion facilities in the US. It operated a whopping 82% of all abortion facilities selling the abortion pill and not committing surgical abortions. Sixty-nine percent of all Planned Parenthood facilities were selling abortions at the end of 2021.

Numbers at a glance

1973  

• Planned Parenthood has 700 facilities when Roe v. Wade is wrongly decided by the Supreme Court. 
• Planned Parenthood commits less than 5% of US abortions until 1978. 

1995   

• Planned Parenthood reaches an all-time high of 938 facilities. 
• It now commits over 10% of US abortions. 
• Facility numbers begin to fall immediately as it seems to abandon its plan to have 2,000 facilities by the year 2000. 

2000

• The FDA approves use of the abortion pill. 
• Planned Parenthood now commits 15% of all US abortions and has zero clinics that distribute the abortion pill.

2008   

• Planned Parenthood now commits 27% of all US abortions in its 174 surgical-plus-pill and 121 abortion-pill facilities. 
• American Life League begins its campaign to pray the rosary nationwide at PP facilities.
• Planned Parenthood closes 284 facilities over the next 13 years.

2013  

• Planned Parenthood facility numbers fall below 700 for the first time since 1973, when Roe v. Wade was imposed. 
• Planned Parenthood commits 35% of all US abortions in its 176 surgical and 166 pill facilities.

2021  

• Planned Parenthood facilities count falls to 567. 
• Planned Parenthood operates 40% fewer facilities than it did at its apex in 1995. 
• Planned Parenthood now commits 55% of all US abortions, compared to 10% in 1995 in its 938 facilities. 
• Planned Parenthood now operates a whopping 82% of all US facilities committing abortion via the abortion pill only.
• 69% of all Planned Parenthood facilities commit abortions, via surgical and/or abortion pill.

Our entire 2021 Planned Parenthood Facilities Report is available on our website. 

Taxpayer Money Earmarked for Planned Parenthood May Go to Homeless Youth and Women Instead

New Mexico Alliance for Life announced in an email that $250,000 previously earmarked by the city council for Planned Parenthood is the subject of a resolution being moved to the full city council for vote on August 15. The resolution calls for the money to be channeled to homeless youth and women instead of Planned Parenthood.

Albuquerque pro-life council member Renee Grout, who spearheaded the resolution, said, “The question the council will debate . . . is whether it’s right or wrong to give undirected taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood. I believe that it’s wrong to force citizens to support this billion-dollar organization when it violates the consciences of so many people.”

“We applaud the efforts of Councilors Renee Grout and Dan Lewis for championing the resolution to redirect forced taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood funding to a more worthy and necessary use of taxpayer dollars, assisting youth homelessness,” said Elisa Martinez of NMAFL. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together and address the immediate needs of our most vulnerable populations, rather than force taxpayers to fund abortions.” 

Citizens are encouraged to contact members of the Albuquerque City Council and respectfully ask them to vote in favor of R-22-46, which will redirect abortion funding to organizations that provide homeless youth and women shelter.Contact elisa@nmallianceforlife.org for more information.

Pro-Lifers Dominate Waco City Council Meeting 

In the last issue of the WSR, we shared that there was a sacrilegious attempt afoot in Waco, Texas, to implement a so-called “GRACE Act” to make enforcement of abortion restrictions lowest priority for law enforcement. John Pisciotta of Pro-Life Waco reported that his organization would oppose that move, and they turned out in full force at a recent City Council meeting.

Pisciotta reports that “the largest crowd in Waco City Council history swarmed in. 500 attended. The ratio was 4:1 pro-life in attendance. Also, the testimony ratio was 4:1 with a total of 60 speaking for nearly 3 hours.”
 
“In the end, it was obvious,” Pisciotta continued, “that most, or all but one, council members realized that putting the GRACE Act on the council agenda would be bad for Waco and/or bad for the members’ prospects for re-election.” 

Pisciotta claimed the victory. 

He also cited an article by Live Action’s Carole Novielli that reveals that the so-called GRACE Act “has been proposed and even passed by city councils in multiple states in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court case.” Novielli’s article is a must read. It lists nine cities across the nation where “resolution language, tailored to each specific region, has already passed the . . . city councils.” It also adds that language is set to come before the Dallas City Council on August 10.

Being pro-active pays off, and we all must remain vigilant. Congratulations to Pro-Life Waco for showing up before the item was placed on the city council agenda.