By Tara Shaver
Albuquerque, NM – Catholic Senator, Michael Padilla (D) hosted a fundraiser “honoring” Maggie Toulouse Oliver, a radical pro-abortion candidate running for New Mexico Secretary of State. Protest ABQ peacefully protested this event to send the message that politicians should make their faith a priority over their party.
Maggie Toulouse Oliver is a proud supporter of Planned Parenthood. In a post on Facebook back on January 28, 2015 Maggie stated, “I started my day with Planned Parenthood of New Mexico at their Breakfast of Champions honoring our state’s leaders who agree that politicians should not interfere with women’s personal health care decisions. It was great to see old friends and to hear Alex Sanger — grandson of Planned Parenthood founder, Margaret Sanger –speak.”
Maggie also supports grisly late term abortions, which are prevalent in New Mexico because there are no laws restricting them. Two California abortionists, Susan Robinson and Shelley Sella fly into New Mexico each month to kill these babies up to the day of birth. Carmen Landau is the third late term abortionist who resides in Albuquerque and practices with a medical license that she obtained in communist Cuba. Late-term abortionist Carmen Landau hosted a fundraiser for Maggie Toulouse Oliver back in April which Protest ABQ also protested.
Senator Padilla confronted us and stated that he did not understand why we were protesting and asked for clarification. When he was told that our protest was the result of his support for Maggie Oliver he reiterated that he did in fact support her. Then he was given further clarification, in case he was unaware, of Maggie’s support for abortion. Upon hearing this, it all became clear to him why we were there, but it made no difference to him. In fact, this triggered politician instead, called the police claiming that Fr. Stephen Imbarrato, a priest, had hit him in the face with a sign!
In contrast, however, the owner of the restaurant where the event was hosted told us that she didn’t know that this fund raiser was for a pro-abortion candidate. After she realized that it was, she had her staff pray over EVERY plate sent out…and then she came out to join us in Protest!
As we left Senator Padilla told us that our protest was, “not cool” because he was in fact “pro-life”…really! We urged him to distance himself from pro-abortion politicians and to support pro-life bills if he wanted our support.
This is a major problem that we face in New Mexico, politicians who separate their faith from their political ambitions. How does a self proclaimed Catholic justify honoring and raising funds for someone who stands in opposition to core tenants of their own faith? Only if they care more about their party than their faith! Pro-lifers don’t raise money for candidates that support Planned Parenthood and we definitely would never honor politicians who are radically pro-abortion. Instead, we pray for them and insist that they abandon their political policies that are immoral and grieve God’s heart.
Fr. Stephen Imbarrato, the Protest Priest with Priests for Life issued the following statement, “Today was the National Day of Remembrance of Aborted Children and the pro-abort politicians of New Mexico, many of them Catholic held a fundraiser. I find it interesting how a Catholic State Senator can support abortion at every opportunity and still call himself pro-life. But we saw today how easily those who support abortion can lie about other aspects of their lives.”
Fr. Stephen Imbarrato sponsored Albuquerque New Mexico’s National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children by holding a Mass at the Holy Innocents Chapel where an aborted unborn baby, Eve, is interred. Project Defending Life is located directly next door to Planned Parenthood. After Mass, Fr. Imbarrato processed over to Planned Parenthood for prayer which was the SECOND protest of the day which he led in opposition to pre-born child killing. Planned Parenthood supporters counter protested this prayer vigil holding signs stating, ‘God Bless Planned Parenthood” and “Pharisee.”
