Lila Grace Rose (born July 27, 1988) is an American anti-abortion activist who is the founder and president of the anti-abortion organization Live Action.[1][2][3][4][5] She has conducted undercover investigations of abortion facilities in the United States, including affiliates of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Lila Rose
Rose in 2022
Born
Lila Grace Rose

(1988-07-27) July 27, 1988 (age 36)
Alma materUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Known forAnti-abortion activism
TitleFounder and president of Live Action
Children3

Early life and education

Rose was raised in San Jose, California, the third of eight children.[6] She was home-schooled through the end of high school and majored in history at the University of California, Los Angeles.[6] She was raised as Evangelical Protestant and later converted to Catholicism.[7][8][9]

Activism

In 2003, at the age of 15, Rose founded the anti-abortion group Live Action and began giving presentations to schools and youth groups.[6][10] While at UCLA,[11] she partnered with conservative activist James O'Keefe to conduct undercover videos of abortion providers.[12]

Rose has concentrated her activism on Planned Parenthood and National Abortion Federation affiliates in the United States, focusing on the anti-abortion interpretation of the moral and ethical aspects of abortion and financial issues in the abortion industry. She has also highlighted the high abortion rate in the African-American community.[13]

In 2006, Rose, as a college freshman, conducted her first undercover video investigation on abortion at UCLA's Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center.[6] Her freshman year she also founded the pro-life student magazine The Advocate.[12]

In 2007, Rose visited two Planned Parenthood facilities in Los Angeles and recorded undercover videos while purporting to be a 15-year-old girl who had been impregnated by a 23-year-old male who was accompanying her, telling staffers she did not want her parents to find out about the relationship. No employee at either clinic objected to the situation, and a receptionist at one facility "told Rose to say she was 16, because if she was 15, the clinic would have to make a report to the police."[14] Rose has posed as an abortion-seeking teen impregnated by an older man in additional stings at Planned Parenthood clinics in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Tucson, Phoenix and Memphis.[6] According to Politico, "Within the anti-abortion community, Rose has been widely lauded for her undercover investigations into abortion clinics."[15]

Rose was featured in an Atlantic October 2018 original short documentary, "Meet the Face of the Millennial Anti-Abortion Movement."[16]

In July 2019, Rose addressed the White House "social media summit" alongside President Donald Trump.[17][18]

Recognition and awards

Personal life

Rose is married and has three children.[24][25]

Publications

  • Fighting for Life: Becoming a Force for Change in a Wounded World (2021)[26]

References

  1. ^ "20-Year-Old College Student Becomes Rising Star in Anti-Abortion Movement". Foxnews.com. Reuters. May 28, 2009. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  2. ^ "After videos, Senate Republicans target Planned Parenthood vote". Reuters. Jul 28, 2015. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2021. Lila Rose, a leading anti-abortion campaigner.
  3. ^ "Planned Parenthood plots largest-ever campaign blitz in 2014". FoxNews.com. Feb 27, 2014. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Lila Rose, president and founder of Pro-Life group Live Action, said Planned Parenthood's plans to spend millions on the elections should fuel calls to strip taxpayer funding for the group.
  4. ^ Crary, David; Rubinkam, Michael (May 4, 2013). "Philly abortion murder trial has national impact". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. One anti-abortion group, Live Action, has used the case to publicize the latest in a series of undercover videos it has made at abortion clinics.
  5. ^ Sherman, Mark (June 29, 2015). "Supreme Court rules Texas abortion clinics can remain open". Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Lila Rose, president of Live Action, an anti-abortion advocacy group.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Abcarian, Robin (April 26, 2009). "Anti-abortion movement gets a new-media twist". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  7. ^ Bell, Justin (February 3, 2012). "How Lila Rose Became Pro-Life … and Catholic". National Catholic Register. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  8. ^ O'Regan, Mary (February 10, 2011). "The new face of the pro life cause". Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  9. ^ O'Keefe, James (June 17, 2014). Breakthrough: Our Guerilla War to Expose Fraud and Save Democracy. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781476706184. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved December 31, 2018 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ Darling, Adelaide (January 19, 2013). "Lila Rose highlights role of faith in fighting abortion". Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2013. When Rose went to UCLA for her undergraduate degree, she took Live Action with her.
  11. ^ Carl, Katy (February 13, 2007). "Undercover and Over Obstacles — All for the Unborn". National Catholic Register. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Rose, Lila (October 2010). "Fighting for Life". First Things. Archived from the original on 2020-07-31. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  13. ^ Jonsson, Patrik (February 4, 2011). "For Lila Rose, Planned Parenthood video 'sting' is about revolution". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  14. ^ Ross Douthat, "The Politics of Pregnancy Counseling" Archived 2010-04-16 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, December 3, 2009 (accessed May 18, 2010)
  15. ^ "Abortion sting hits Planned Parenthood". Politico. February 1, 2011. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  16. ^ Pressey, Brianna (October 2, 2018). "The Face of the Millennial Anti-Abortion Movement". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  17. ^ "Pro-Life leaders tell White House summit of online censorship". Catholic News Agency. July 12, 2019. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  18. ^ "Trump rips tech firms at 'free speech' summit". Reuters. July 11, 2019. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  19. ^ "Lila Rose Chosen As Operation Rescue's 2008 Person Of The Year". Operation Rescue. December 30, 2008. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  20. ^ "Gerard Health Foundation Announces Second 'Life Prizes' Awards". AAPLOG. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  21. ^ "Pro-life activist Lila Rose shares her story". Liberty University. April 8, 2011. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  22. ^ July 11, 2013, The 25 Most Influential Washington Women Under 35 National Journal
  23. ^ Shellnutt, Kate (July 1, 2014). "33 Under 33". ChristianityToday.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  24. ^ "Lila Rose of Live Action: 'The Pro-Life Movement Is Growing'". National Catholic Register. January 18, 2020. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  25. ^ "Meet Lila Rose". Live Action. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  26. ^ Rose, Lila (2021). Fighting for Life: Becoming a Force for Change in a Wounded World. Nelson Books. ISBN 978-1-4002-1987-2.