A pro-life group has been kicked out of the annual 4th of July parade this weekend in Palatine, Illinois. Parade organizers booted the group because their banner includes a picture of an unborn child.

The local pro-life group bounced from the parade is the Catholics Respect Life organization in Palatine, Illinois. The groups’s banner depicts both a preborn child and an elderly woman, with the message “Palatine Area Catholics Respect Life from Conception ’till Natural Death.”

The Palatine Jaycees, who organize the annual parade, decided the banner was offensive. “Everyone’s trying to promote their message,” said Jaycee spokesman Bill Pohlman. “But the event organizers felt this crossed the line.”

Martin Kelley, co-founder of the pro-life group, was aghast at the decision. “They decided that an unborn baby is too offensive. It’s an ultrasound photo. It’s not a picture of an aborted baby.”

Kelley says the same banner has appeared in prior parades without objection. He says the group was applauded all along last year’s parade route and received several standing ovations from the crowd.

Kelley says the parade organizers are applying a double standard to the pro-life group. He points out that other groups with potentially offensive messages have been approved for this year’s parade, including the Parents and Families of Lesbians and Gays.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send an email or a fax to the Palatine Jaycees to express your dismay at the fact that they would ban a group of local pro-life citizens from their parade.