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The 2005 Rally for Life

By Scott Tibbs, January 24, 2005

January 22, 2005 was the 32nd anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that threw out laws against abortion in all 50 states. For many years, Monroe County Right to Life and IU Students for Life co-sponsored the Rally for Life on the lawn of the Monroe County Courthouse to sadly remember this decision.

Approximately 75 people participated in this year's rally. Pro-life activists gathered on the courthouse square and walked down Walnut Street to Second Street, over to College Avenue and back up to the courthouse. The walk route was designed to include the Planned Parenthood facility, where abortions are performed every Thursday in Bloomington. Pro-life activists then gathered on the steps of the courthouse to silently protest abortion with pro-life signs.

The 2005 Rally For Life was not without a reaction from passers-by. Several people gave a friendly honk and a wave to people participating in the rally. Other reactions were not as supportive. Three college-age women wrote messages favoring abortion rights on their stomachs, which they bared to the crowd for over an hour. One woman in a van berated pro-lifers as she drove by, screaming profanities, while another woman screamed profanities from the passenger window of a car driving by.

Pro-lifers march around the square



I am not sure what those screaming profanities hoped to accomplish with their tirades. Do they think they will convince us to support "abortion rights" by screaming the "f-word" at us? I take such extreme displays of anger as encouragement; if we were not having an effect, supporters of "abortion rights" would not be so angry at a rally with such innocuous signs. Nonetheless, such displays of vulgarity and hate are not only childish, they are unworthy of political discourse in a "save and civil city".

As the first group of pro-life supporters rounded the courthouse square, a man screamed something about "teaching your children hate". This is a common pejorative used against pro-lifers. Opposing abortion, however, is not an act of hate; it is an act of love. As explained above, pro-life activists braved to below-freezing temperatures and endured being cursed out by passers-by to take a stand for those who cannot stand for themselves. It is an act of love to extend protection to those unborn children who are being slaughtered on a daily basis by America's abortion industry.

Unfortunately, neither the Bloomington Herald-Times nor the Indiana Daily Student sent a reporter or photographer to the rally, despite the fact that a press release was hand-delivered to both newspapers three days before the rally. I find it difficult to believe that the Herald-Times, especially, could not spare someone for thirty minutes to cover this annual event.

The march begins!

The local rally coincides with the National March for Life, which will take place today in Washington, D.C. The national march traditionally draws tens of thousands of people from all over the country to stand for unborn near the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. Over 225,000 people, encouraged by the election of pro-life President George W. Bush, attended the 2001 March for Life in Washington, D.C. Last year, over 125,000 people attended the March for Life.

Rallies took place around the country as well. A combined 10,000 people gathered in San Francisco for marches supporting and opposing abortion, with city officials helping organize a counter-rally to the planned pro-life event. The event included about 6,000 abortion opponents and 3,000 abortion supporters.

There is good news for those who support protecting life before birth, considering that President Bush is likely to nominate at least one justice to the Supreme Court. This could provide the support necessary to reverse Roe v. Wade. The Declaration of Independence said it was "self-evident" than "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" were "inalienable rights". The first of those has been violated over 40 million times since 1973, but progress is being made to see this tragedy come to an end.