March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Anti-abortion demonstrators encircle Capitol > Group remembers Roe vs. Wade

AUGUSTA — A circle of people linked themselves together around the Capitol building Saturday as several hundred pro-lifers from throughout the state joined hands to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision.

Men, women and children, bundled up against the harsh winter day, stretched to complete the circle around the large building, but they made it.

Before completing the circle, they gathered on the Capitol steps to listen to speakers, music and prayer. The event was held to recognize the anniverary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion throughout nine months of pregnancy.

Gripping placards that represented their views against abortion, the participants listened as individuals spoke about the need to continue the fight to embrace life for all, including the unborn, the handicapped and the elderly.

Chris Coughlan, executive director of the Maine Right to Life Committee, said pro-lifers will meet on the Capitol steps every January until a change has been made and “until we see our culture embrace life.” He said that since Roe vs. Wade, 34 million children have been aborted. In their memory, a bell tolled 34 times.

The rally included a lobbying workshop on abortion in health care legislation, which centered on the fact that Planned Parenthood soon will begin performing abortions in Maine and is expected to urge the Legislature to approve taxpayer-funded abortions through health care reform. It was stated that Rep. John Baldacci and Sens. William Cohen and Olympia Snowe defended the so-called partial birth abortion procedure.

The speakers at the rally included Dr. John Kroger of Rumford, a pro-life doctor who recently wrote a letter objecting to plans by the Maine Academy of Family Physicians to promote abortion in Maine. Kroger, a father of four, said he informed the physicians group that he would seriously consider dropping his membership if the group adopted such a plan.

Bruce Wilson, who with his wife, Jan, operates the Hope House in Lewiston, told the group that 600 mothers have been assisted through their Single Moms Support Center. He said a pregnancy support center also had opened, supplying pregnancy tests and support for both married and single mothers.

Before the rally ended and the circle was formed, one participant said, “We will never, never give up because what we believe is right.”


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