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NRL News
January
Rallies Show Renewed For 36 years, pro-lifers have come out in force each January to condemn the Roe v. Wade decision and speak out for life. Facing a new pro-abortion administration in Washington, D.C., thousands of pro-lifers rallied in cities and towns across the nation once again, more determined than ever to stand up for the right to life of all Americans, born and unborn. The new political climate contributed to the record number of pro-lifers at the Rally for Life and Lobby Day in Topeka, Kansas, January 22. The 1,500 participants tripled the usual turnout of 500. “I am not at all surprised that more people than usual came out,” said Kansans for Life Executive Director Mary Kay Culp. “It’s been obvious since Obama was elected that pro-life people everywhere are re-energized.” “Change” came to Oregon this year—for the first time, pro-lifers rallied in the largest city, Portland, rather than the state capital of Salem. The 50 Million Lost rally January 18 drew an unprecedented crowd of 7,000, and featured the moving sound of one bell tolling for each million babies lost to legal abortion since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. “We are pro-life in part because we are pro-woman!” said Dr. Frank Rosenbloom, president of Oregon Right to Life. “We affirm the equality, dignity, and right to life of every woman, even those who have not yet been born.” Speakers at the Hands Around the Capitol event in Augusta, Maine, January 17 urged the 300 attendees to let their congressmen know of their vehement opposition to the so-called “Freedom of Choice Act.” “This is the single greatest threat we are facing in the pro-life movement,” said Teresa McCann-Tumidajski, executive director of the Maine Right to Life Committee. “Never before in the history of this nation have babies been so at risk.” Nearly 5,000 Minnesotans rallied in St. Paul January 22, showing their strong support for the right to life and for proposed bills that would fully fund grants for abortion alternatives and protect women from coercion. “No woman should ever be forced into abortion—not by relatives, the child’s father or abortionists,” said Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Legislative Associate Jordan Bauer. “Abortion is not a choice, because no baby would ever choose to die.” Thousands also marched in Arkansas’s state capital, Little Rock, January 18. About 5,000 right to lifers were joined by their former governor, Mike Huckabee, and state legislators spoke about a proposed bill that would ban the gruesome partial-birth abortion procedure. Pro-lifers in Santa Fe, New Mexico, delivered information packets to their state legislators during the Sanctity of Life Awareness and Unity Day January 22. The amazing turnout of 3,000 people urged their representatives to support pro-life policies. Congressional lobbying was also the focus of Rose Day, the annual pro-life lobbying day in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, February 4. A huge crowd gathered at the state capitol in Atlanta, Georgia, January 22 and then proceeded through the city streets in a silent walk of remembrance. The pro-lifers heard stirring remarks from Dr. Alveda King, niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King also energized hundreds attending the SpeakOut Illinois Conference January 31 in Lombard, Illinois. “Each of you is a warrior for life,” she told the crowd. “Abortion is not a civil right. Abortion is genocide.” Derrick Jones, National Right to Life Communications Director, spoke at Central Illinois Right to Life Sanctity of Life Rally, which attracted hundreds. He talked of how pro-abortion President Barack Obama constantly invoked President Lincoln throughout the campaign. “Anyone who supports a policy which denies unborn children the legal protections of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” Jones said, “cannot be the second coming of Lincoln.” A personal witness to the humanity of the unborn galvanized the 5,000 pro-lifers attending the Walk for Life in Lincoln, Nebraska, January 31. Michael Clancy, photographer of little Samuel Armas’s hand during fetal surgery, told of his own journey to pro-life and of the amazing moment of contact between the unborn baby and his doctor. Over 1,000 brave pro-lifers faced sub-freezing temperatures in Charleston, South Carolina, January 17 to Stand Up for Life. “The forecasters said you would be icicles and popsicles if you showed up here, but you came out,” Holly Gatling, executive director of South Carolina Citizens for Life, told the crowd. “We’re here both to grieve those lost to abortion and to celebrate the birthdays you all have made possible.” Neighboring North Carolina was also chilly but warmed by the enthusiasm of 1,000 pro-lifers in Raleigh January 17. “We are the voice of the voiceless,” said Barbara Holt, president of North Carolina Right to Life. Cold weather also confronted pro-lifers who gathered in Nashville, Tennessee, January 25. The 1,200 enthusiastic participants vowed to continue their commitment to protect and care for human life. “Tennessee’s pro-life majority continues to grow,” said Brian Harris, president of Tennessee Right to Life, “and we will continue to insist that our public policies come back into line with the pro-life views of most Tennesseans.” The winter chill couldn’t prevent nearly 400 hundred right to life supporters from marching in Montpelier, Vermont, January 17. Young pro-lifers chanted with enthusiasm and the crowd marched through the streets, “Who are we?” “Youth!” they answered. “What are we?” “Alive.” They gathered on the state capitol steps and later went inside to hear from speakers including Steven Mosher, outspoken opponent of China’s coercive “one child” policy. Pro-lifers also attended state capital events January 20 in Olympia, Washington; January 21 in Cheyenne, Wyoming; January 22 in Sacramento, California; Denver, Colorado; Hartford, Connecticut; Honolulu, Hawaii; Lansing, Michigan; and Pierre, South Dakota; January 24 in Boise, Idaho; and January 25 in Indianapolis, Indiana. States close to Washington, D.C., such as Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia—and even those further away like Missouri, New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, and Ohio—sent thousands of pro-lifers to the massive National March for Life January 22. Kentucky pro-lifers enjoyed their 31st annual Congressional Breakfast, hearing remarks from legislators including U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning, before joining the massive crowd at the March. They presented hundreds of petitions against the so-called “Freedom of Choice Act” to the legislators, expressing strong opposition to the bill from people throughout the state. But pro-life activism extended far beyond state and national capitals. Dedicated right to lifers made sure their voices were heard in small towns, at county courthouses, and in churches all around every state. Many of these gatherings involved prayer for babies who have been lost and for a change in hearts and minds. Alaskan pro-lifers gathered at Anchorage Memorial Cemetery January 24. The interdenominational prayer service focused on healing for those who have had abortions or have been touched by abortion. Across the country in Sarasota, Florida, over 300 pro-lifers attended the 11th annual Prayer Walk for Life January 22. Dubuque, Iowa, was also the site of a Walk for Life January 17. Pro-lifers in Reno, Nevada, participated in an Interfaith Choose Life Rally & Life Chain January 17. Practical support to women and babies in need could be found at the March and Rally for Life took place January 22 in Tempe, Arizona. Pro-lifers contributed to the state’s largest diaper drive, with donations of disposable diapers, baby wipes, and formula. Kansas’s Mary Kay Culp clearly outlined the upcoming challenges along with the knowledge that dedicated pro-lifers will never stop fighting for the right to life. “This fight is now into its 36th year,” she said. “but we are seeing new interest at unprecedented levels, especially among the young—those under 35 know who know they are in the population of those who could have been legally aborted. Thus, a fight that might otherwise seem old in its 36th year is in fact, getting younger and younger. And we’re going to need that youth in the difficult days ahead.” |