President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards spoke at a Catholic university on Wednesday – and so did one of her former employees.
When students at Georgetown University invited Richards to speak on campus, pro-life students decided to invite their own speaker, Abby Johnson, a pro-life activist and a former clinic director at Planned Parenthood. Richards was invited by the university’s Lecture Fund, a student-run organization, to speak on campus.
The invitation from students at a Catholic university was met with controversy and was condemned by several Catholic organizations, including the Archdiocese of Washington.
Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider, and abortion goes against the teachings of the Catholic Church.
.@Georgetown is lucky to have the kickass @GULectureFund students pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo.
— Cecile Richards (@CecileRichards) April 20, 2016
“Based upon my Twitter feed I know there were a bunch of folks who didn’t want me to speak,” Richards said during her speech.
“So thank you for showing up!” “I can’t wait ’til the day Hoyas for Choice is an official campus group!” Richards added. “A girl can dream.”
Richards used her speech to defend and promote her organization, including its mission to provide “safe and legal abortion.”
“The world can be tough — it can be unjust. But here’s the great news: Each of you has the power to do something about it,” Richards said. “You get to build the world you want to live in.”
A few hours later, in another part of campus, Johnson, one of Richards’ former employees, spoke in defense of the pro-life cause.