Live Action (organization)
Encyclopedia
Live Action is an American
pro-life
non-profit organization
founded by Lila Rose
in 2004. According to their website, they are a "youth led movement dedicated to building a culture of life and ending abortion." They are known for controversial stings against Planned Parenthood
clinics, the largest provider of abortions in the United States.
, an LGBT
-interest publication.
Live Action gained attention in February 2011 for their undercover
videos it made of Planned Parenthood
employees at multiple affiliates which they say show them offering counseling to a "pimp" on getting abortions and testing for his sex workers
. Planned Parenthood reported the activities of the individuals involved to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
before the videos were made public. Lila Rose would not confirm Live Action was involved in the sting until after the videos were released.
Planned Parenthood has vehemently denied Live Action's allegations that they condone or support sexual slavery
and statutory rape
while they also stated that the actions by one of their employees was inexcusable, and fired the employee in question.
On March 1, 2011, attorney general Eric Holder
announced there would be no prosecutions resulting from the video sting.
In March 2011, Live Action partnered with the Susan B. Anthony List
for a bus tour through 13 congressional districts either condemning or praising their representatives for their votes on whether to defund Planned Parenthood of tax dollars through the Pence Amendment. Planned Parenthood sent a bus to follow the Live Action & SBA List bus in response.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
founded by Lila Rose
Lila Rose
Lila Grace Rose is an American pro-life activist and the founder of the pro-life group Live Action. She is known for a series of campaigns against affiliated facilities of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.-Biography:...
in 2004. According to their website, they are a "youth led movement dedicated to building a culture of life and ending abortion." They are known for controversial stings against Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
clinics, the largest provider of abortions in the United States.
Operations
Live Action publishes The Advocate, a student-based magazine. This is not the same magazine as The AdvocateThe Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
, an LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
-interest publication.
Activities
In 2010, a sting by Live Action on a Birmingham Planned Parenthood clinic led to a state investigation and the clinic being placed on probation by the Department of Health for what the state described as a "technical violation."Live Action gained attention in February 2011 for their undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
videos it made of Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
employees at multiple affiliates which they say show them offering counseling to a "pimp" on getting abortions and testing for his sex workers
Sex worker
A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
. Planned Parenthood reported the activities of the individuals involved to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
before the videos were made public. Lila Rose would not confirm Live Action was involved in the sting until after the videos were released.
Planned Parenthood has vehemently denied Live Action's allegations that they condone or support sexual slavery
Sexual slavery
Sexual slavery is when unwilling people are coerced into slavery for sexual exploitation. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO, with the cooperation of various international agencies...
and statutory rape
Statutory rape
The phrase statutory rape is a term used in some legal jurisdictions to describe sexual activities where one participant is below the age required to legally consent to the behavior...
while they also stated that the actions by one of their employees was inexcusable, and fired the employee in question.
On March 1, 2011, attorney general Eric Holder
Eric Holder
Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. is the 82nd and current Attorney General of the United States and the first African American to hold the position, serving under President Barack Obama....
announced there would be no prosecutions resulting from the video sting.
In March 2011, Live Action partnered with the Susan B. Anthony List
Susan B. Anthony List
The Susan B. Anthony List, or simply SBA List, is a 501 non-profit, non-partisan organization that seeks to eliminate abortion in the U.S. by supporting pro-life politicians, primarily women, through its SBA List Candidate Fund political action committee...
for a bus tour through 13 congressional districts either condemning or praising their representatives for their votes on whether to defund Planned Parenthood of tax dollars through the Pence Amendment. Planned Parenthood sent a bus to follow the Live Action & SBA List bus in response.