Cheyenne Dorsagno, Copy Editor
On Wednesday, September 30, a Planned Parenthood branch in Los Angeles was set on fire.
The small fire was quickly extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. Captain John Reilly of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department announced that it was an act of arson as the smell of gasoline was apparent and a rock was found in the building, which presumably broke the window.
The fire alarm was triggered at roughly 11:30 p.m. The alleged arsonist was caught by a surveillance camera around this time wearing a mask and hooded sweatshirt.
Just a day earlier, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards was questioned by a Congressional committee in a hearing that has been described by her defenders as, “A Republican attack on abortion rights,” which are given to citizens by law.
While three percent of Planned Parenthood’s activities pertain to abortions—which are privately funded, not federally funded—they perform many other services such as educating young people on sex, giving cancer screenings, and offering STD testing. For this reason, recent aggression towards Planned Parenthood has been viewed by many as an attack on public health, on deservedly free services, and more specifically, on women’s health.
Ironically, there is a history of violence associated with pro-life extremists who claim primary interest in eradicating the act of abortion which they view as violent.
Planned Parenthood officials have yet to give a statement on this recent assault, and there are no current suspects.
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