About 3,500 gather at Capitol for Roe v. Wade’s 39th anniversary
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The massive anti-abortion demonstration that swept through downtown Baton Rouge on Saturday morning at times seemed to be an odd mix between a Mardi Gras parade and a funeral procession.
A cacophony of drumbeats, bagpipes and horns sounded as the crowd of 3,500 made its way down Fourth Street toward the State Capitol, many marchers reciting their rosaries aloud in unison. Numerous families wore matching pro-life T-shirts and held hands. One man elevated a human-sized cross above the crowd. Six children walked in a circle connected together by a large rosary, each bead the size of their heads.
“It’s always somewhere between somber and joyful when we gather like this,” said Benjamin Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life Federation, a Metairie-based anti-abortion group that co-sponsored the march.
Clapper said the event was somber because the crowd was mourning all the babies unborn as a result of abortions; however, members of the group could celebrate because they could recount some progress in their campaign.
The Louisiana demonstration, which was co-sponsored by several anti-abortion and church-related groups, joined nationwide protests commemorating the 39th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade., which anti-abortion activists say legalized abortion.
Surrounded by a sea of families, Bobbie Jones, 67, of Metairie, marched holding a sign that read: “I regret my abortion.”
When she was 27, Jones aborted her baby because she felt she couldn’t raise a child out of wedlock. Since that day, Jones has regretted her choice. As she grappled with feelings of intense guilt decades later, Jones decided to dedicate her life to helping other women by sharing her experience.
“It’s a healing process to tell my story,” Jones said. “They say abortion is a safe option, but it was too destructive to me emotionally and spiritually. A part of me died when my baby died.”
Earlier in the week, Louisiana was ranked the most pro-life state in the nation by Americans United for Life, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group. The rankings were determined according to states’ policies regarding abortion, euthanasia and stem-cell research.
Speakers at the rally repeatedly made references to that first-in-the-nation ranking throughout the morning, each time to thunderous applause in response.
The march came the day after a victory for anti-abortion activists, said the Rev. Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum. On Friday, state health chief Bruce Greenstein had promised to better enforce public records laws regarding abortion paperwork. Mills called that promise a “phenomenal development.”
“I think the pro-life movement in Louisiana is finally beginning to mature,” Mills said.
The demonstration had heavy Christian overtones, including multiple prayers and a keynote speech delivered by Pastor Fred Luter, of Franklin Avenue Baptist church in New Orleans.
Sounding an often-visited theme of the morning, Luter told the crowd that troubled pregnant women should turn to God, rather than an abortion doctor. “If you want to know how something works, you need to go to its source, its creator,” Luter told the crowd.
“If I want to know something about the telephone, I’m going to ask Alexander Graham Bell, not Andrew Lloyd Weber,” Luter said. “And if I want to know something about life, I’m not going to ask … Dr. Phil, Oprah … I’m going to ask Almighty God about this thing called life.”
Churches across Louisiana sent busloads of parishioners to the rally.
Dale Hoffpauir, 41, of Lafayette, marched with his wife, two daughters and son.
“We’re speaking for those who can’t speak for themselves,” Hoffpauir said.
LSU student Ruth Flores, 21, said she was marching out of sadness following a relative’s abortion.
“I forgive them for having the abortion, but it’s still devastating because it’s a family member that I lost,” Flores said. “That child wasn’t given the same chance I was.”
At one point near the 34-story State Capitol, volunteers released into the sky hundreds of pink and blue helium-filled balloons, meant to represent unborn babies. Some of the volunteers said they had arrived at the Capitol by 3:30 a.m. to begin filling the balloons.
U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., told people in the crowd their support was integral in moving any abortion-restricting legislation forward. Vitter said that seeing thousands at the rally helped remind him that Louisianians care about abortion laws.
“I’m proud that Louisiana is the top pro-life state in the country,” Vitter said in an interview. “If we could just get the Supreme Court to get out of the way, we absolutely would be the first state to ban (abortion).”
The Louisiana pro-life lobby is eyeing a few legislative priorities this year, Clapper said.
Aside from stepped-up enforcement of records laws, anti-abortion activists seek a law requiring abortion providers to have an ultrasound machine visible in the examining room, instead of merely offering to perform the procedure, Clapper said.
Another possible anti-abortion initiative would focus on enactment of a law that would ban abortions after 20 weeks, a deadline that activists claim marks the time when a fetus can feel pain, Clapper said.
A cacophony of drumbeats, bagpipes and horns sounded as the crowd of 3,500 made its way down Fourth Street toward the State Capitol, many marchers reciting their rosaries aloud in unison. Numerous families wore matching pro-life T-shirts and held hands. One man elevated a human-sized cross above the crowd. Six children walked in a circle connected together by a large rosary, each bead the size of their heads.
“It’s always somewhere between somber and joyful when we gather like this,” said Benjamin Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life Federation, a Metairie-based anti-abortion group that co-sponsored the march.
Clapper said the event was somber because the crowd was mourning all the babies unborn as a result of abortions; however, members of the group could celebrate because they could recount some progress in their campaign.
The Louisiana demonstration, which was co-sponsored by several anti-abortion and church-related groups, joined nationwide protests commemorating the 39th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade., which anti-abortion activists say legalized abortion.
Surrounded by a sea of families, Bobbie Jones, 67, of Metairie, marched holding a sign that read: “I regret my abortion.”
When she was 27, Jones aborted her baby because she felt she couldn’t raise a child out of wedlock. Since that day, Jones has regretted her choice. As she grappled with feelings of intense guilt decades later, Jones decided to dedicate her life to helping other women by sharing her experience.
“It’s a healing process to tell my story,” Jones said. “They say abortion is a safe option, but it was too destructive to me emotionally and spiritually. A part of me died when my baby died.”
Earlier in the week, Louisiana was ranked the most pro-life state in the nation by Americans United for Life, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group. The rankings were determined according to states’ policies regarding abortion, euthanasia and stem-cell research.
Speakers at the rally repeatedly made references to that first-in-the-nation ranking throughout the morning, each time to thunderous applause in response.
The march came the day after a victory for anti-abortion activists, said the Rev. Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum. On Friday, state health chief Bruce Greenstein had promised to better enforce public records laws regarding abortion paperwork. Mills called that promise a “phenomenal development.”
“I think the pro-life movement in Louisiana is finally beginning to mature,” Mills said.
The demonstration had heavy Christian overtones, including multiple prayers and a keynote speech delivered by Pastor Fred Luter, of Franklin Avenue Baptist church in New Orleans.
Sounding an often-visited theme of the morning, Luter told the crowd that troubled pregnant women should turn to God, rather than an abortion doctor. “If you want to know how something works, you need to go to its source, its creator,” Luter told the crowd.
“If I want to know something about the telephone, I’m going to ask Alexander Graham Bell, not Andrew Lloyd Weber,” Luter said. “And if I want to know something about life, I’m not going to ask … Dr. Phil, Oprah … I’m going to ask Almighty God about this thing called life.”
Churches across Louisiana sent busloads of parishioners to the rally.
Dale Hoffpauir, 41, of Lafayette, marched with his wife, two daughters and son.
“We’re speaking for those who can’t speak for themselves,” Hoffpauir said.
LSU student Ruth Flores, 21, said she was marching out of sadness following a relative’s abortion.
“I forgive them for having the abortion, but it’s still devastating because it’s a family member that I lost,” Flores said. “That child wasn’t given the same chance I was.”
At one point near the 34-story State Capitol, volunteers released into the sky hundreds of pink and blue helium-filled balloons, meant to represent unborn babies. Some of the volunteers said they had arrived at the Capitol by 3:30 a.m. to begin filling the balloons.
U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., told people in the crowd their support was integral in moving any abortion-restricting legislation forward. Vitter said that seeing thousands at the rally helped remind him that Louisianians care about abortion laws.
“I’m proud that Louisiana is the top pro-life state in the country,” Vitter said in an interview. “If we could just get the Supreme Court to get out of the way, we absolutely would be the first state to ban (abortion).”
The Louisiana pro-life lobby is eyeing a few legislative priorities this year, Clapper said.
Aside from stepped-up enforcement of records laws, anti-abortion activists seek a law requiring abortion providers to have an ultrasound machine visible in the examining room, instead of merely offering to perform the procedure, Clapper said.
Another possible anti-abortion initiative would focus on enactment of a law that would ban abortions after 20 weeks, a deadline that activists claim marks the time when a fetus can feel pain, Clapper said.
