Despite the recent shooting incident that left three people dead at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Roanoke County supervisor Al Bedrosian says he won’t back off his criticism of the abortion services provided by the organization.
Since the infamous undercover videos surfaced that show Planned Parenthood executives discussing the selling of aborted fetal parts, Bedrosian has publicly called for an end to the Roanoke County employee United Way campaign – since a portion of the money collected by the local United Way goes to Planned Parenthood.
United Way of Roanoke Valley has said those funds are targeted for health education programs and not for abortion services but Bedrosian still thinks the annual voluntary employee campaign should end.
His last attempt at a vote on the issue was tabled without action at a November public meeting. “I actually think it’s time to really talk about this. My issue is with what Planned Parenthood does. As a pro-life person I feel they are murdering little babies,” said Bedrosian, a conservative Republican who represents the Hollins district.
What the suspect in Colorado did was also wrong, he acknowledges – “but it just heightens this issue. We need to get out of the murder business,” added Bedrosian, “[the shooting] really doesn’t deter me at all. This issue [abortion] needs to be put at the forefront.”
If people were shocked by what happened in Colorado, said Bedrosian, they should also be shocked that, by his count, the local Planned Parenthood office in Roanoke has “murdered 813 babies” via abortion in 2014. “Both of them are very bad things and should be stopped.”
How people around the country react to the Planned Parenthood videos and the abortion issue is something Bedrosian said he can’t influence – all he can do is put his views out there and his disapproval of Roanoke County’s relationship via United Way. “My only issue with Planned Parenthood is that I feel they are doing something that is wrong … and that Roanoke County should stop our relationship with them.”
Planned Parenthood has the right to perform abortions under the law, said Bedrosian – but that doesn’t mean Roanoke County should support a non-profit (United Way) that sends them funds. “It’s important for me to be a voice for that.”
So no, don’t expect Al Bedrosian to stop speaking out at board meetings on this issue. He heard a statistic that there have been 8 murders at Planned Parenthood clinics over the past 40 years: “Compare that with 50 million [aborted] babies. This [shooting] should really focus our attention back to things that are wrong,” said Bedrosian.
By Gene Marrano
