Pro-life advocates marched throughout the country in protest of the Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision that nationalized the practice of abortion 33 years ago.
Among the largest protests were those in St. Paul, Minn., where thousands marched peacefully at the state Capitol, and in San Francisco, where some 15,000 came together for the city's second annual pro-life march.
The largest protest, the March for Life, is expected to take place today in Washington D.C. although rain may play a factor in reducing the turnout.
"We have a dream today that someday soon this will not be an anniversary of sadness, but an anniversary of justice restored," said Minn. Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has signed three laws favored by pro-life activists, according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, reportedly 1,000 protestors showed up for a pro-life march originating in a downtown cathedral there; a police officer, however, reported that there were only about 150 protestors, according to the Associated Press. The event was organized by Hispanics for Life and endorsed by Los Angeles archdiocese head Cardinal Roger Manhony. Protesters held up signs which read, "Pray to End Abortion," "Lord Forgive Us and Our Nation," "Save Babies, Don't Kill Them."
In Little Rock Arkansas, hundreds joined in at the State Capitol on Sunday despite cold and wet weather. The protest there has been held every year since the Roe decision. Participants included State Governor Mike Huckabee and Suzanne Vitadamo, sister of Terri Schiavo whose death through starvation and dehydration by court order was the subject of much controversy last year.
Counter protesters were also active this weekend. In San Francisco, over 1,000 abortion rights supporters lined the sidewalks as police kept pro-life and pro-choice demonstrators apart. Before the Walk for Life, organizers told the pro-lifers not to respond to taunts or hecklers and avoid gruesome depictions of abortions. However there were a small number of such displays among the crowd.
Off the streets, and in the corridors of the nation’s legislative offices and courts, the abortion debate is also raging.
Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, who is expected to be confirmed by a narrow margin in the Senate this week, said he would respect precedent in abortion legislation but would not commit to either deciding for or against it when if a case on the issue comes to him. He has previously written that the constitution does not support abortion rights.
Today’s "March for Life" in Washington will start at the National Mall and proceed along a closed off Constitution Avenue, taking the marchers to the Supreme Court and the Capitol Building.
[Source: The Christian Post]
