A pro-life group learned eleven days before the upcoming March for Life that their reservation in a restaurant located at Washington D.C.'s K Street was canceled because it is against their support for pro-abortion advocates.
Aleteia reported that Busboys and Poets, which has several branches in Washington DC, admitted canceling the reservations of Democrats for Life of America for January 21 because they wanted to remain a "safe place" for those who uphold views on abortion.
Busboys and Poets, who markets itself as an inspiration for social change by being "a community where racial and cultural connections are consciously uplifted," reasoned in an interview with Catholic News Agency that their restaurant chain "stands firmly on the belief that women have the right to make their own reproductive health decisions" as the primary reason for canceling the DFLA reservations.
"When our team learned the fundraising nature of the event in question, the decision was made to cancel it and refund all deposits to the event organizer," the Busboys and Poets spokeswoman said.
"While we welcome conversations from individuals expressing different viewpoints and pride ourselves on being a venue for respectful conversations between diverse groups, we are also a safe space. As such, we cannot knowingly accept events designed to fund an agenda which our community members believe to be trampling on the rights of others," she added.
The National Catholic Register, on the other hand, explained that Democrats for Life made the reservations in line with the 49th March for Life on January 21. Democrats for Life National Communications Director Jess Meeth said they intend to meet in the bookstore-restaurant before they proceed to the annual march.
"The primary purpose of the breakfast is to get together as a group with some of our fellow Whole Life Democrats (donors, supporters, and candidates we've endorsed) before we rally on the streets and fight for the rights of children in the womb," Meeth said.
Meeth said they learned the event was canceled because some guests of Busboys and Poets opposed of their use of the venue. Accordingly, Planned Parenthood is one of those who frequent the bookstore-restaurant. Democrats for Life America Executive Director said that the restaurant was put under pressure.
"The catering director mentioned to me that Planned Parenthood holds events at the venue which I did not think was relevant to the conversation. Clearly, Busboys and Poets caved to pressure instead of abiding by the contract we signed," Day revealed.
Previously, Christianity Daily reported that March For Life 2022 will be held in-person in Washington D.C. on January 21 with the theme, "Equality Begins In The Womb." The event, a first since the pandemic began, will include a concert by "Matthew West" followed by a rally at the National Mall going to the Supreme Court afterwards despite the threat of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
March for Life Education and Defense Fund President Jeanne Mancini stressed last October that the debate on equality is not applied to unborn children who are the victims of the abortion industry due to their inability to defend themselves.
"While nearly everyone seems to agree that the topic of equality is important, there's little agreement on what the definition of equality is, and who it applies to, and how that should be applied to important policy questions. We want to expand this debate, this rigorous debate, about equality to include unborn children who are often overlooked because they cannot speak for themselves," Mancini said.
