Some Chapel Hill residents rally against Planned Parenthood

The honks and hollers of the early Saturday morning traffic on U.S. Highway 15-501 were not from road rage, but instead from protesters lining the busy highway.

Saturday marked #PPSellsBabyParts National Day of Protest, arranged by the organization ProtestPP. The protest lasted from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and was part of more than 300 planned parenthood protests all over the country.

The protests are in response to several undercover videos that were released this summer with Planned Parenthood employees discussing selling aborted babies. The organization has denied any wrongdoing, saying the videos were taken out of context and edited. 

Protesters stood outside the Planned Parenthood on Dobbins Drive in Chapel Hill, holding signs with words such as “Stop the Holocaust” and “Aren’t you glad you weren’t aborted?”

The Planned Parenthood facility had volunteers standing outside the building wearing pink vests in order to greet any patrons that wanted to use the facility.

Jeremy Gage was amongst the protestors and stood on the corner of Sage Road and U.S. Highway 15-501 with his young son holding a sign with the Dr. Seuss quote, “A person is a person, no matter how small.”

“I love children, and I want to see them live,” said Gage.

Gage said he was not only there to promote the anti-abortion cause, but the idea of anti-abortion as a whole worldview consisting of a love for family and children.

“Abortion is just one leg of a whole worldview,” Gage said. “The worldview involves setting up society so that people and families can flourish rather than just putting an end to abortion.”

Gerry MacLeod said many of the protesters were there to end the exploitation of babies and the selling of aborted fetuses’ body parts for a profit.

“Not only do we stand against abortion 100 percent, but there isn’t even any dignity given to these little people that are being aborted," MacLeod said.

Drema Herwig protested the Chapel Hill facility, holding a sign that read, “She’s a child not a choice.” 

“The baby has no choice,” Herwig said. “The woman has a choice.”

Nathan Mlot stood with his wife and baby and said he was there because he believes human rights extend to every human beginning at the point of conception. 

“We believe that a child has a life from conception and onward — a human life,” he said. “And all human life is a gift from God, and it should be treated with respect.”

Protesters lined the highway with signs, prayed in front of the Planned Parenthood building and walked around bearing the weight of a large wooden cross all to support a cause they are so passionate about.

“It’s the most important thing in the world,” Gage said about the end to abortion. “If I could have my way in everything and anything except this, I wouldn’t be happy. If I could have this and nothing else, I would be happy.”

@maggiemonsrud city@dailytarheel.com