STOPP International today introduced Ed Szymkowiak as the newest member of its team.
Szymkowiak is STOPP International's new national director, responsible for monitoring and reporting on Planned Parenthood
activities throughout the United States.
"We are honored and privileged to have Mr. Szymkowiak on board," said Jim Sedlak, president of STOPP International. "His
extensive experience will help pro-lifers all across the country continue to mount successful campaigns against Planned
Parenthood."
For six years Szymkowiak led an effort that resulted in Planned Parenthood Association of Delaware and Otsego Counties
closing its clinic in Hancock, N.Y., in June, 1999. He organized peaceful and prayerful picketing of the facility, coordinated
letter writing campaigns to local newspapers, and opposed a Delaware County contract with Planned Parenthood. As founder
of Hancock's Gift of Life League and vice president of Delaware County Right to Life, Szymkowiak helped establish the
Lourdes Hospital prenatal program, which provided a pro-life alternative for mothers in Hancock.
In 1989, as member of Operation Rescue, Szymkowiak experienced police brutality and imprisonment at the West Hartford II
rescue in Connecticut. In 1995, he led an effort to oppose Planned Parenthood workshops aimed at his students at Sullivan
County BOCES in Liberty, N.Y.
"Ed has placed the protection of children above everything," said Sedlak. "He is an outstanding force against Planned
Parenthood, a veteran of pro-life activism and a welcome addition to STOPP International."
