History of the Marian Blue Wave

Below is a brief history of the development of what we are now calling the Marian Blue Wave.

Highlights of fight against Planned Parenthood in 20thcentury

Margaret Sanger

Some milestones in the 20thcentury fight against Planned Parenthood include the following:

  • Monsignor John Ryan, Bishop Patrick Hayes, and many others oppose Margaret Sanger starting in 1916 when she founded the American Birth Control League (now called Planned Parenthood Federation of America).
  • This effort intensified after Planned Parenthood brought about decriminalized abortion through three Supreme Court decisions: Griswold (1965), Roe (1973), and Doe (1973).
  • 1973 — The National Right to Life is founded and begins the fight against PP abortion, but not the organization as a whole.
  • 1979 — ALL is founded and begins fighting all facets of PP (including contraception and sex education) immediately. ALL begins to issue brochures and ads.
  • 1980 — Elasah Drogin’s book Margaret Sanger, Father of Modern Societyis released. It is a critique of Sanger’s writings. 
  • 1981 — HLI is founded and begins fighting International PP.
  • 1981 — Mary Senander creates a slide/audio presentation entitled “A Critical Look at Planned Parenthood.”
  • 1985 — STOPP is formed as a local group focused on PP.
  • 1988 — George Grant releases Grand Illusions,the first book critical of PP as an organization.
  • 1989 — Christian Action Council starts Corporate Funding Project against PP.
  • 1990 — STOPP goes national at the urging of Joe Scheidler.
  • 1994 — Life Decisions International is founded to continue CAC’s Corporate Funding Project.
  • 1992 — Life Dynamics is founded with a major focus on PP.
  • 1993 — Susan B. Anthony List is founded.
  • 1997 — A major effort against Planned Parenthood began in the Amarillo (TX) diocese.
  • 1998 — STOPP merges into American Life League.

Efforts against Planned Parenthood in the 21stcentury

Texas– Bishop John Yanta was installed as head of the Roman Catholic Amarillo diocese in 1997. Bishop Yanta was a dedicated pro-lifer, and when he found out he had inherited 19 Planned Parenthood clinics in his diocese, resolved to close them all down. He assigned that task to Rita Diller, head of the Respect Life office of the diocese.

Rita Diller

Diller immediately began implementing techniques pioneered by STOPP, but added a significant element. Diller brought Mary, the mother of God, into the battle. She had pictures of Our Lady of Guadalupe carried—at one time or another—outside of every Planned Parenthood clinic. She, of course, also had the Hail Mary prayed at each facility.

The results were spectacular. By 2008, there were no Planned Parenthood clinics left in the Amarillo diocese. From 1999 to 2008, Planned Parenthood closed a net of 37 clinics across the country, and 19 (51 percent) of them were in the Texas Panhandle!

Across America– During the first decade of the 21stcentury, the pressure on Planned Parenthood began to mount. A number of additional groups were formed, and all, in some capacity, joined with existing groups in focusing some of their efforts on Planned Parenthood. These groups included Live Action, Students for Life of America, and National 40 Days for Life.

Bringing Jesus to Planned Parenthood through Mary– After the closing of all of the Planned Parenthood facilities in Amarillo, Rita Diller joined American Life League and became a major part of creating a brand new campaign—Bringing Jesus to Planned Parenthood through Mary (the Mary Campaign). It is a campaign that specifically asks the mother of God to use the graces and powers given to her by the Holy Trinity to bring an end to Planned Parenthood and its child-killing business. The campaign was developed in 2008 and 2009 and encourages people all across the country to take images of Jesus and Mary with them as they pray in front of Planned Parenthood locations. People also recite the Rosary outside Planned Parenthood and say specific prayers. The effect has been startling.

Planned Parenthood went from 813 clinics at the end of 2008 to 590 clinics at the end of 2018—a total of 223 clinics shut down in 10 years!

The Vatican– As successes against Planned Parenthood mounted in the United States, American Life League sought to bring the fight against PP to the international stage. In 2014, the Rome Report was hand-delivered to the Vatican with the intent of spurring worldwide opposition to Planned Parenthood. The report was well received and is currently circulating among appropriate cardinals, bishops, and their staffs in anticipation of implementation.

Today, October 7, 2019—the Feast of the Holy Rosary—we are announcing an exciting new battle against Planned Parenthood and the entire culture of death. It is an expansion of the Mary Campaign called the Marian Blue Wave.

You can read all about it in the What Is the Marian Blue Wave? section of this website.