A student-focused anti-abortion group is canceling a bus tour protesting Planned Parenthood in the wake of Friday’s shooting at a clinic in Colorado Springs.
Students for Life of America had planned a two-week, cross-country bus trip starting Monday to press government officials to criminally investigate and block funding to the women’s health and abortion provider, after the recent discovery that some of its centers provide aborted fetal tissue for medical research.
But spokeswoman Kristina Hernandez told the Washington Examiner that the group has postponed the trip until next spring due to the shooting last week at a Planned Parenthood center that claimed the lives of three people, including a police officer.
“We are rescheduling it for the spring out of respect for the victims and their families of the Colorado Springs shooting and out of concern for the safety of our staff and supporters on the tour,” Hernandez said.
On Friday, a gunman entered a Planned Parenthood center, killing three people and wounding nine during a five-hour standoff with police. One of the casualties was police officer Garrett Swasey. The suspect, Robert Lewis Dear Jr., is facing charges in the incident including first-degree murder.
The shooting could affect lawmakers’ plans, too. The Senate is planning a vote later this week on a bill that repeals some parts of Obamacare and blocks federal funds to Planned Parenthood, but there are some discussions among Republicans about removing that portion of the legislation.
