PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A large group of abortion rights opponents gathered outside of a Planned Parenthood facility to rally against bullying after Rep. Brian Sims recorded himself confronting protesters outside the facility. The rally was called “From the City of Brotherly Love: A Pro-Life Rally Against Bullying.” A major Center City block closed down Friday morning and afternoon as more than 1,000 abortion rights opponents gathered in front of the Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, located at 1144 Locust St. “We see so much in our culture about empowering women, yet the pro-choice message is, ‘You can’t handle this baby,'” Maria Scanga, an an abortion rights opponent, said. Live Action, one of the leading national abortion rights opponents and human rights organizations in America, held the prayerful rally. . @LilaGraceRose , pro life advocate speaks to crowd https://t.co/8407sLlPYa — Greg Argos (@GregArgosCBS3) May 10, 2019 In the video shot last week outside a Planned Parenthood facility in his district, Sims peppered the unidentified woman with comments and questions, calling her actions disgusting, racist and shameful. The woman largely ignores him, at one point taking a rosary out of her bag. “Who would have thought that an old white lady would be out in front of a Planned Parenthood telling people what is right for their bodies,” Sims said in the video. “Shame on you.” The nine-minute video uploaded to Sims’ Facebook page has been seen more than 1 million times. “Representative Brian Sims filmed himself harassing and berating, making sexist and racist comments,” Lila Rose, founder of Live Action, said. “We will not back down to bullies. We will respond to your hatred with love and we will continue to fight for the day where every single child in this country in the womb is protected.” Dozens of Philadelphia Police officers were on hand for the crowd, and though there were at least 10 Planned Parenthood volunteer escorts near the facility, very few counter-protesters arrived. “I’m out here to provide support for the volunteers that are coming to help people get services that they need,” Rachel Rodriguez, an abortion rights advocate, said. “I wanted to make sure they felt there were safe.” But most of the attention stayed on Sims, with many calling for his resignation. Mother Of Teens State Rep. Brian Sims Confronted At Planned Parenthood Says She’s Concerned For Family’s Safety “This is behavior that is unbecoming for a state representative,” Rose said. The Republican Party of Pennsylvania called for city, state and federal prosecutors to investigate Sims following the videos. In a statement, party chairman Val DiGiorgio called Sims’ conduct “outrageous.” “Elected officials should not use their positions of power to harass citizens who are peacefully protesting. I hope our state and federal prosecutors will undertake review of this matter with the seriousness it deserves and uphold the role for which they were elected to, which demands holding people accountable for their actions,” DiGiorgio said. In the second video, Sims asked viewers to identify three young females he described as protesters and “pseudo Christians” outside the Planned Parenthood clinic. He offered a reward for the information, promising to donate $100 to Planned Parenthood. Ashley Garecht, @LilaGraceRose and hundreds of pro-lifers gather outside of the @PPAdvocatesPA clinic in center city after State Rep @BrianSimsPA videos himself confronting teens and elderly woman silently protesting outside clinic. pic.twitter.com/8rngRoQg4Q — Greg Argos (@GregArgosCBS3) May 10, 2019 Both Philadelphia Police and District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office are aware of the videos and are currently looking into the issue. Archbishop of Philadelphia Charles Chaput addressed the videos Rep. Sims posted. “Over the past few days, videos have gone viral on social media featuring State Representative Brian Sims aggressively harassing young and elderly women who were peacefully praying outside of a Planned Parenthood Clinic in Philadelphia,” Archbishop Chaput said in a statement. “These videos, which Representative Sims took himself, have rightly sparked broad outrage and garnered much attention in the press. His actions were unbecoming of an elected official. There is much bitter irony that he claims to be a champion for the rights of all women yet he trampled on the rights of others and disgracefully shamed them in public. It was particularly disdainful that he offered a bounty for the identity and home addresses of three young ladies in order to encourage protests at their homes.” CBS3’s Greg Argos contributed to this report.<doc-sep>State Rep. Brian Sims during debate in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2016. (Pennsylvania House Video/via YouTube) Philadelphia — At 1144 Locust Street in Philadelphia, in front of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, at least a thousand pro-life protestors gathered on the spot where, one week ago, state representative Brian Sims filmed himself harassing a peaceful woman praying outside the clinic. “She is an old white lady, who is going to try to avoid showing you her face,” Sims said of the woman from behind the camera, angling it to capture her on tape. He then harassed her for several minutes, calling her “disgusting” and “racist,” and repeating “shame on you.” At one point, he asked viewers to identify her and give her address so that he could protest outside her house. Advertisement Sims also filmed himself several weeks ago harassing pro-life teenage girls who were peacefully protesting on the sidewalk, offering viewers $100 to identify them. After Sims tweeted the video last weekend of himself bullying the older woman, the incident received national coverage from conservative media and pro-life commentators, leading Daily Wire writer Matt Walsh to suggest on Twitter that pro-life people respond with a rally in Philadelphia. The response was overwhelming, and almost overnight, pro-life groups such as Live Action jumped in to organize the event. At 11 a.m. this morning, close to a thousand opponents of abortion gathered on the street and sidewalk, which was blocked off by police cars. Planned Parenthood clinic volunteer escorts stood on the corners, and one told National Review he was there to make sure women who wanted to get into the clinic would be able to do so. Among the speakers at the rally were Walsh; Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action; Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who now operates And Then There Were None, which helps abortion-clinic workers leave their jobs; the mother of the teenage girls Sims attempted to identify on film; and volunteers from the local group Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia.<doc-sep>
Thousands of pro-life individuals protested Democratic Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims on Friday outside of the Philadelphia Planned Parenthood clinic where he had previously harassed pro-life women. Sims posted a video on social media last weekend, in which he confronted and repeatedly mocked an elderly woman protesting outside the same Planned Parenthood clinic. Daily Wire writer Matt Walsh came up with the idea for a protest in response to Sims and spoke at the rally. (RELATED: CNN, MSNBC Ignore PA Rep. Sims Harassing Women Outside Planned Parenthood) Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review reported that other speakers were “Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action; Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who now operates And Then There Were None, which helps abortion-clinic workers leave their jobs; the mother of the teenage girls Sims attempted to identify on film; and volunteers from the local group Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia.” In the video of Sims harassing the woman last week, he said to the camera, “Who’d have thought that an old lady would be outside a Planned Parenthood telling people what is right for their bodies? What you are doing here is disgusting. This is wrong. You have no business being out here.” (RELATED: ‘Old White Lady’ — Pennsylvania State Rep Harasses Elderly Abortion Protester) Following the backlash, another video surfaced from a month ago of Sims doing the same thing to a mother, her two daughters and one of their friends. After confronting these women, Sims left and then came back to film his second interaction with them. Here at this morning’s pro-life rally in front of the Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia where @BrianSimsPA harassed a peaceful protestor last week. pic.twitter.com/jAyoeTRJ3U — Alexandra DeSanctis (@xan_desanctis) May 10, 2019 “What we’ve got here is a bunch of … pseudo-Christian protesters who’ve been out here shaming young girls for being here,” Sims said in the video. “So, here’s the deal, I’ve got $100 to anybody who will identify these three, and I will donate to Planned Parenthood.” Good morning everyone! See you in Philadelphia today at our Pro-Life is Pro-Love Rally, as we stand up to bullying, intimidation and the violence of abortion! 11am, Planned Parenthood, 1144 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA pic.twitter.com/ocIoTC0OLn — Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) May 10, 2019 Standing for LIFE and against #prochoice bullying outside a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in #Philadelphia to say #ResignBrianSims pic.twitter.com/Uw2yQXtynt — Susan B. Anthony List (@SBAList) May 10, 2019 Follow Mike on Twitter