Obama Delayed His Planned Parenthood Speech, And Pro-Lifers Think It's Because Of Kermit Gosnell

Much to the delight of anti-abortion activists, President Barack Obama will no longer deliver the keynote address at Planned Parenthood's gala in Washington, D.C. Thursday night.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters Wednesday that the President has delayed the speech in order to spend more time meeting with victims of the West, Texas fertilizer explosion Thursday. Thursday. Obama will instead address the Planned Parenthood conference on Friday morning.

Nevertheless, anti-abortion activists were quick to herald the date change as a victory, and attributed the decision to mounting political controversy surrounding abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, who is on trial for allegedly murdering three infants and one woman in his filthy Philadelphia clinic.

“Planned Parenthood last week admitted to knowing about the horrors going on inside Kermit Gosnell’s squalid Philadelphia clinic, but chose not to exercise its position as the leader in the abortion industry to put an end to the butchering of women and children," Susan B. Anthony President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement. "No matter the reason for his backing out, it is certainly a good time to distance oneself from Planned Parenthood."

To be clear, political pressure almost certainly had nothing to do with Obama's decision to move his speech. Carney said last week that the Gosnell case is "unsettling," but that the White House would not take a position on an ongoing trial.

Incidentally, the Gosnell trial came to an abrupt end Wednesday when Gosnell's lawyer rested his defense without presenting any witnesses or asking the abortion doctor to take the stand. The lawyers on both sides will present their closing statements on Monday.