abortion

Pro-Life Ohio Man Sues for Unfair Arrest Outside Abortion Clinic

An Ohio man is suing the city of Cuyahoga Falls for violating his First Amendment rights after police arrested him outside a local abortion clinic last December.

Three days after Christmas, Zachary Knotts and his wife peacefully promoted pro-life values on a public sidewalk near Northeast Ohio Women’s Center.

To share his evangelical message, Knotts spoke into a battery-powered megaphone, which had previously been cleared for public use by the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department.

Abortion clinic escorts quickly swarmed Knotts, shoving umbrellas in his face and drowning his words with whistles and kazoos.

Despite the escorts’ repeated noise and harassment, police only arrested Knotts for violation of the Cuyahoga Falls Noise Ordinance.

In their report, The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) states:

Although Mr. Knotts used a megaphone to be heard, his megaphone was not substantially louder than the noise of surrounding traffic.

The audio from Mrs. Knotts’ video recording demonstrates that Mr. Knotts’ megaphone was easily drowned out by the sound of the traffic on the nearby State Road and the escorts’ whistles and kazoos used to drown out his megaphone.

ACLJ attorneys claim Knotts’ arrest clearly compromised his right to free speech, noting:

  • Police can’t prove Knotts’ volume violated local ordinance – the batteries in his megaphone died before their arrival.
  • Although a nearby resident complained about Knotts’ pro-life speech, she never mentioned the escorts’ noise.
  • The only witness questioned was an off-duty, private security officer for the abortion clinic.
  • An officer warned Knotts would be arrested again if he caused further “annoyance,” regardless of whether or not he used amplified speech.  

Though police seemed eager to shut down Knotts’ pro-life message, officers had previously refused to censor abortion escorts’ threatening speech.

During a previous encounter in the presence of a police officer, Knotts reportedly told escorts his mother-in-law had considered abortion, and that his now-wife “should be dead.” One escort responded, “We can fix that.”

Another spat on Knotts. Police told Mrs. Knotts these alarming threats were not a crime.

The ACLJ writes:

The First Amendment doesn’t guarantee freedom from annoyance or inconvenience – it guarantees freedom of speech, especially for unpopular viewpoints that challenge the status quo.

When government officials start deciding which messages deserve protection based on their own preferences, we’re all at risk.

ACLJ’s lawsuit, filed May 30 seeks the following:

  • A declaration that the charges and arrest were unconstitutional
  • Compensation for alleged violations
  • A bar banning police from arresting protesters outside the abortion clinic
  • The return of Knotts’ microphone

The government does not have authority to censor citizens based on the content of their speech. Unfortunately – and too frequently – pro-life advocates like Zachary Knotts are not always afforded their First Amendment rights.

This case is Knotts v. The City of Cuyahoga Falls

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Gen Z Women Rejected Pro-Abortion Messaging in 2024, Election Data Shows

Post-election data shows pro-abortion messaging failed to galvanize young women in the 2024 election cycle, suggesting Gen Z women care far less about — or for — pro-abortion policies than political strategists expected.

It’s big news — but pollsters, per usual, are missing the point.

David Shor, head data scientist at a prominent Democrat consulting firm, joined The New York Times’ Ezra Klein last week to break down last year’s decisive presidential election. The two acknowledged young voters became more conservative but, like most analysts, attributed the shift primarily to young men.

It’s true: men aged 18 to 29 moved further right then their female counterparts — about 15 points, according to Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).

But Gen Z women also became significantly more conservative. More than 40% of women aged 18 to 29 voted Republican in 2024, compared to just 33% in the 2020 presidential election. The shift spanned races, with white and black women each moving six points to the right and latina women moving 10 points.

This rightward shift is particularly important because, unlike young men, young women were supposed to be a shoo-in for former Vice President Kamala Harris. In a May 2024 piece for The New York Times, two political analysts predicted young women would overwhelmingly support abortion “rights.”

The article, titled “[Abortion] is the Democrats’ Best Shot in 2024. And They’re Spending Like Crazy on It,” reads:

There’s a good chance the [abortion] issue could offset President Biden’s weakness among many young and nonwhite voters, given the strong turnout among women and younger voters in recent years in states where abortion rights were on the ballot.

Pro-abortion candidates leaned hard into this perceived advantage. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and its allies spent $175 million on pro-abortion TV ads in 2024 — more than 30% of their total ad spending.

Just one day before the election, Politico reported Harris’ pro-abortion media campaign was “helping her close the gap with Trump on handling voters’ No. 1 issue: the economy.”

 “Abortion rights and Trump’s history of misogynistic statements is fueling a historic gender gap,” it further assessed, implying that women would vote on abortion and men on the economy.

These predictions did not come true. Abortion was not a mobilizing issue for American voters, particularly compared to the economy. In one of Shor’s surveys asking voters to rank issues by importance, 79% of respondents ranked the “cost of living, inflation” as more important than abortion.

Abortion paled in comparison to the economy even among Gen Z women, who are frequently portrayed as abortion’s biggest advocates. In the CIRCLE survey, 39% of women aged 18 to 29 identified “the economy and jobs” as their top policy priority.

Only 17% listed “abortion.”

The data is clear: the Democrat party spent big on an issue women, particularly young women, didn’t care about nearly as much as it thought. It effectively reduced an entire voting block to a stereotype — a caricature of an activist who cares about nothing more than having sex with no strings attached

This misunderstanding was so foundational that the party poured money into it until the bitter end. Democrats spent more than $2 million in mid-October on last minute pro-abortion messaging in swing states, even after polls showed women valued economic policy more highly.

But pro-abortion messaging clearly isn’t the silver bullet the Democrat party believed it to be.

Additional Articles and Resources

Harris’ Abortion Issue Bid Fails

Young People on the Pro-Life Movement’s Future

Young Person Talks to Young People at National March for Life

Colorado Pro-Abortion Politician: Abortion is Cheaper for the State

Earlier this week, the speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives gave testimony in support of public tax dollars going to fund abortion.

She then admits it’s cheaper for the state to pay for abortions than pay for a baby to be born.

Don’t believe it? Listen for yourself.

Colorado abortion activists are so brazen, they have no problem saying the quiet part out loud.

In the video, the pro-abortion lawmaker explains,

Ultimately, the state will see a cost savings. A birth is more expensive than an abortion.

The “savings” comes from “averted births” because “the abortions happen instead.”

If your instinctual response to that argument is to recoil in shock and disgust, good – that means you have an intact conscience.

If the same “cost savings” argument were applied to the disabled or to those that suffer from chronic medical conditions, there would be an uproar – and rightly so.

It’s a dehumanizing argument meant to justify the death of an entire segment of the human population based on the idea that it would be cheaper if we didn’t have to care for them at all.

Jim Daly, President of Focus on the Family, told the Daily Citizen,

As Christians, we know that every human being is made in the image of God with intrinsic value and worth, and that distinction begins in the womb. To suggest that abortion is acceptable because it saves the state of Colorado money is dystopian and morally objectionable on every level. If we ever hope to attain a more civil society, we must start by respecting human life at all stages of development. Children are not a burden on society – they are a blessing.

The Colorado bill, SB 25-183, would require the state to cover abortion as part of its Medicaid services.

The measure was approved by the state Senate and has already passed the House Health and Human Services Committee. It’s now on its way to the House floor where it is expected to have more than enough votes to pass.

Last fall, Colorado voters approved an amendment enshrining abortion in the state Constitution and repealing the ban on taxpayer funded abortions.

Now that the ban has been removed and abortion is considered a constitutionally protected “right” under state law, the abortion-supporting majority in Colorado’s state House and Senate are enthusiastically doing everything they can to ensure Colorado taxpayers pay for abortions.

When this bill becomes law, as is expected, Colorado taxpayers will be forced to spend millions of their dollars every year funding abortions against their conscience.

The measure’s fiscal note estimates, “In the first full implementation year (FY 2026-27), costs for abortion services are estimated to be $5.9 million, while cost savings for averted births are estimated to be $6.4 million.”

It’s no surprise the abortion lobby is advocating for this bill and taxpayer funded abortions. For abortion sellers, it’s always about the bottom line. They sell abortions for a living. What’s more secure than a steady stream of funding from Colorado taxpayers?

The video above, exposing the radical views of Colorado abortion activists, has already received over 120,000 views on X and its reach continues to grow.

Please share this article and video within your circle of influence.

Let’s work together to expose big abortion and hold them accountable for their shameful beliefs that discriminate against low-income women and their babies.

BREAKING: Trump Administration Moves to Freeze, Cut Funding to Planned Parenthood

The Trump Administration plans to freeze $120 million in funding to Planned Parenthood and other family-planning organizations while it investigates whether those organizations used federal funds for DEI efforts.

The Wall Street Journal broke the story on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the situation. The administration is expected to publicly announce the funding freeze sometime this week.

A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said grant recipients are under review as they monitor for compliance with President Trump’s executive orders, including directives for DEI be removed from all aspects of the federal government.

The action will freeze roughly $20 million in grant money slated to go to Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood is responsible for performing nearly 400,000 abortions every year which is roughly half of all abortions performed in the United States.

Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told The Wall Street Journal,

“The Trump-Vance-Musk administration wants to shut down Planned Parenthood health centers by any means necessary, and they’ll end people’s access to birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and more to do it.”

News of restricting funding to Planned Parenthood has been received with great appreciation from the pro-life community.

President of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Marjorie Dannenfelser, told LifeNews, “This is a victory for the unborn and for taxpayers. … This is about protecting life and respecting the conscience of Americans who don’t want their money supporting abortion.”

Other pro-life leaders took to X to celebrate the news.

Lila Rose from Live Action wrote,

Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life shared,

Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA also posted,

Many in the pro-life movement are calling on the Trump Administration to completely defund Planned Parenthood of all $700 million in tax dollars. Indeed, not a single cent of taxpayer money should go to an organization that kills 400,000 preborn children every year.

The Daily Citizen is very grateful for HHS’ decision and will keep you updated on this developing story.

At Focus on the Family, we have defended the rights of preborn children for decades, and we won’t rest until every preborn baby is loved and welcomed into the world. Through our Option Ultrasound program, we’ve helped save over half a million preborn babies since 2004.

You can learn more about Option Ultrasound and partner with us to help save lives.

If you are experiencing an unexpected pregnancy and want to learn more about your options, visit My Choice Network.

Related Articles and Resources

My Choice Network

Counseling Consultation Request Form

Considering Abortion?

Focus on the Family Pro-Life

Option Ultrasound Program

Support Your Local, Pro-life Pregnancy Medical Clinic

Alternatives to Abortion: Pregnancy Resource Centers

Hopeful Choice: What is a Pregnancy Help Center? 

Image from Getty.

Planned Parenthood Receives Millions of Dollars Through Federal ‘Family Planning’ Grants

This is Part 1 of a two-part series examining the federal government’s support of Planned Parenthood under the guise of “family planning.”

The federal government pours tens of millions of taxpayer dollars into pro-abortion organizations like Planned Parenthood every year, a Daily Citizen investigation reveals, using Title X “family planning” grants.

The loophole effectively allows presidential administrations to violate the Hyde Amendment, a congressional spending restriction prohibiting taxes from funding or enabling elective abortions.

Title X is a federal grant program supporting “comprehensive family planning and related health services.” The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) distributes Title X money to organizations that provide “contraceptive services, supplies and information.”

HHS’ oversight gives the executive branch substantial authority to determine whether pro-abortion organizations can qualify for Title X funds. Under pro-abortion presidential administrations, Planned Parenthood has received hundreds of millions of Title X dollars.  

Between fiscal years 2017 and 2025, HHS promised to pay $156.9 million to Planned Parenthood entities through 91 different grants. More than 80% ($126.3 million) of this money paid out of two funding buckets associated with Title X — Family Planning Services and Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs.

But the abortion conglomerate, worth some $2.9 billion, hit a snag in 2019, when President Trump issued a rule requiring Title X-funded organizations to:

  • Refrain from referring women to get abortions;
  • “Maintain strict physical and financial separation from abortion services.”

The rule cost Planned Parenthood entities millions in taxpayer money. Between 2019 and 2021, the federal government owed the group a cumulative $20.9 million — significantly less than the $29.4 million promised in 2017 alone.

“The new rule forced Planned Parenthood health centers, along with many others, to withdraw from the Title X program,” the group complained, implicitly admitting it had previously mixed abortion services with federally-funded activities.

The Biden administration rescinded Trump’s Title X rule in 2021, allowing Planned Parenthood to continue gobbling taxpayer money. HHS paid the abortion giant more than $53.7 million in Title X grants between 2022 and 2025. Another $12.4 million is scheduled to pay out by June 2028.

Money is fungible; even if Planned Parenthood doesn’t use Title X money to fund abortions directly, the grants free up unregulated funds to perform and promote them.

What’s more, the 2021 HHS rule allows Planned Parenthood and its ilk to treat vulnerable women as sources of income.

Abortion providers make money by referring women to get abortions. In its most recent financial disclosures, Planned Parenthood reports raking in $383.3 million in between July 2023 and July 2024.

President Trump began reestablishing his pro-life legacy just days after starting his second term. On January 24, he issued two orders plugging some federal funding streams to elective abortions.

The first order reinstated the Mexico City policy, which stops the federal government from funding organizations that support or enable elective abortions abroad. The second revoked two executive actions from the Biden administration — one defining abortion as “healthcare” and the other “protecting…and promoting” access to abortions domestically.

The Daily Citizen supports any executive action that defunds abortion. To truly halt taxpayer-funded abortion, however, HHS must reinstate President Trump’s 2019 Title X rules.

Additional Articles and Resources

Trump Signs Executive Order Limiting Taxpayer Funds for Abortion

Pentagon Ends Paid Travel Expenses and Time Off for Abortions

Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy Pledge to Finally Defund Planned Parenthood

House Passes Born-Alive Bill to Protect Babies Who Survive Abortions

Abortion Remains Highly Profitable Business for Planned Parenthood, New Annual Report Shows

Young Person Braves Planned Parenthood’s Social Media So You Don’t Have To — Here’s What Parents Need To Know

Trump, Vance, Other Republican Leaders All Speak at March for Life