Pennsylvania Democratic state representative Brian Sims offered a non-apology Tuesday afternoon, after videos of his unhinged behavior toward pro-life protesters outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Philadelphia, went viral. Indeed, his statement appeared to be aimed at the Planned Parenthood clinic, rather than the pro-lifers he aggressively accosted.
In a Periscope video he took himself and posted onto Twitter and Facebook, last Thursday, Sims is seen hectoring an elderly woman while she prays the Rosary outside the clinic, calling her peaceful behavior “disgusting,” “wrong,” “shameful,” “racist” and “grotesque.” Another video from a few weeks ago shows him harassing a group of teenage girls and a young man. In both videos, Sims asked his followers to try to doxx the pro-lifers so he could further harass them at their homes. Both videos went viral this week, probably embarrassing the Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Now in damage control mode, Sims posted a video onto Twitter Tuesday, that sought to justify his hateful outbursts by further demonizing the pro-lifers. Sims explained that he has lived near the Planned Parenthood clinic for 15 years, and had seen lots of people going into the facility for “check-ups, for pap smears, for breast exams, for STD screenings, and yes–for abortions.”
He added: “In fact it’s where I even treat for my life-saving PrEP medication and I’m grateful for the service they provide.” [PrRP is a pre-exposure prophylaxis used by people who do not have HIV but who are at substantial risk of getting it].
Sims said that as a volunteer escort at the facility, he’d seen “the insults, the slurs, the attacks and the racism that those protesters aim at mostly young girls go there for clinical care.” However, the only insults, slurs, and attacks seen the videos he took himself and posted online, came from himself. He also accused the pro-lifers of “praying at” not “for” the people going in and out of the abortion clinic.
Sims added:
As a Planned Parenthood volunteer and supporter, I fully understand respect and appreciate the non-engagement policy that they have. I would not want to do anything that would interfere with the care that they’re providing to their patients. As an activist and an advocate, I know why pushing back against harassment and discrimination are a must even when they’re uncomfortable, but last week, I wasn’t a patient escort. I was a neighbor and a concerned citizen and I was aggressive. I know that two wrongs don’t make a right and I can do better and I will do better for the women of Pennsylvania.
I will fiercely protect a woman’s right to make the best choices for her health & her body, unimpeded. I also know that two wrongs don’t make a right, especially on the front lines of a civil rights battle. I can do better, and I will do better, for the women of Pennsylvania. pic.twitter.com/jURL1UX9qE
— Brian Sims 🌈 (@BrianSimsPA) May 7, 2019
Conservatives on Twitter couldn’t help but notice that Sims’ statement was missing words like “sorry,” “regret” and “apologize.”
“You did not apologize to the teens & elderly woman for harassing + attempting to dox them,” Live Action’s Lila Rose wrote on Twitter in response. “The lack of self awareness from an elected official about the harm of your behavior is toxic to a healthy democracy. Public servants have resigned for less.”
Another Twitter user, “Boomieleaks,” recalled that one of the pro-lifers had gently informed Sims, “We’re actually praying for the babies,” after he accused them of trying to shame women in the video he posted a few weeks ago.
“You don’t have to agree with religious people, but when two teenagers outside an abortion clinic say they are praying for the babies, try taking them at their word. Instead you called them ‘pseudo-Christians,'” Boomieleaks wrote.
Wrote the Lafayette Company’s Ellen Carmichael:
Two points:
1) No apology for doxxing these young women.
2) Absolutely zero verifiable claims regarding the behavior of “protesters” at this facility.
It may or may not have dawned on Sims yet that he has done incalculable political damage to himself with his demented, anti-Christian behavior. While no high-profile Democrats appear to have spoken out against his antics in front of the Planned Parenthood in Philly, none have stepped up to defend him either. That’s because the Democrat has made himself toxic even to fellow unhinged lefties — and that’s quite a feat.
The icing on the Cake: Sims is also apparently under investigation for ethics violations:
Shocker. @BrianSimsPA He’s under an ethics investigation https://t.co/xryOGIrs1r
— Kathleen McKinley (@KatMcKinley) May 7, 2019