Roe vs. Wade anniversary noted
with renewed hopes and fears
___By Shelvia Dancy
___Religion News Service
___WASHINGTON (RNS)--Buoyed by a transfer of presidential power only two days earlier that could reshape the abortion debate, thousands of energized abortion opponents poured onto the National Mall Jan. 22 to protest the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized most abortions.
___"We have a new president who shares our beliefs that human life is sacred," Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, told the crowd gathered for the 28th annual protest of the Roe vs. Wade decision. "These helpless babies cannot fight for themselves. ... We can never surrender, never."
___Nellie Gray, president of March for Life--the group that organized the protest--insisted President Bush and all elected officials bear a responsibility to end abortion. "Our nation will not stand for this injustice," she said.
___Demonstrators from as far away as California prayed and rallied in the shadow of the Washington Monument before marching along Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court. Many juggled both babies and banners, which sported messages such as "Former Fetus." As they listened to speeches from religious and political leaders, the crowd jeered and booed at the mention of former President Clinton.
___Some activists began their day early at the Food and Drug Administration, protesting the agency's decision last year to approve the French "abortion pill" RU-486.
___Others gathered Sunday, Jan. 21, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for a prayer vigil led by Baltimore Cardinal William Keeler, chairman of the pro-life committee of the nation's Catholic bishops.
___"The tide of public opinion is definitely turning," said Katie Mahoney, communications director of the Christian Defense Coalition and wife of the group's director, Patrick Mahoney. "Before, no one saw abortion as a human right--they saw it as a woman's right. Now people are becoming educated, and they realize abortion is a human rights issue, and we're getting tons of support."
___As they did the year before, speakers at the March for Life rally vowed to press for a ban on late-term abortions. Last spring, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a 1997 Nebraska law that banned the procedure.
___"We're going to be working for a country that will once and for all outlaw all partial-birth abortions," Chabot said. "These helpless babies cannot help themselves. Those of us here today must fight on their behalf. ... We can never surrender."
___Abortion opponents suspect the fight may be a little easier under the newly installed Republican administration. Bush has said he would support restrictions on access to both RU-486 and late-term abortions, while his nominee for attorney general, former Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri, has supported amending the Constitution to make abortions inaccessible even for victims of rape and incest.
___"The inauguration of President George W. Bush offers new hope, inspiration and the dream of ending the cruelty of human abortion," said Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. He added, "God willing, the day when no child in America is left behind to suffer the abuse and violence of abortion is near."
___Smith found reason to hope in a written statement from Bush that the congressman read to marchers. In the statement Bush pledged to help "build a culture of life" and "work toward a day when every child is welcomed in life and protected in law."
___"The promises of our Declaration of Independence are not just for the strong, the independent or the healthy," the statement read. "They are for everyone--including unborn children."
___More reason for hope arrived later in the day when Bush decided to reinstate a 1984 policy that denies federal funds to international family-planning groups that include abortion counseling or procedures among their services.
The Baptist Standard
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