By Scott Tibbs, January 27, 2017
Just under 240 people showed up at the Monroe County courthouse on Sunday for the Rally for Life, witnessing against abortion and serving as a voice for the unborn.
I attended a couple rallies when I was in college, and I have been helping organize this event for the last fifteen years. (This year was the same as most years, and others did far more work than I did.) This past Sunday was by far the warmest weather we have had for the rally. I was actually slightly uncomfortable in my spring jacket, which was a nice change from the bitter cold that makes your hands cramp up and hurt upon exposure to the air. That was the weather we had in 2016.
We did attract some opposition, and given the anger at President Trump among the Left I was concerned that Leftists might attempt to disrupt the event or even that they might become violent. Fortunately, the ten or fifteen Leftists who showed up were mostly civil. They stood and held their signs, and they shouted a few things, but they did not try to disrupt or cause harm. (They were also vastly outnumbered.) I fully respect the right to counter-protest and I am thankful for the civility of the opposition.
The fact that they care enough to come and counter-protest instead of being completely numb to our presence is actually an encouragement. When someone becomes enraged at Christians opposing evil, you know they at least have some sort of conscience and they might be able to be converted. If they are completely apathetic, there is much less hope. I much prefer angry opposition to apathy. (Violence and terrorism, of course, is never acceptable.)
It was wonderful to see IU Students for Life there.
I was mostly pleased with media coverage. The Herald-Times and the Indiana Daily Student were there, as was IU Student Television and WFIU. Unfortunately, the news media did report inaccurate numbers, either about 100 (which was less than half of what we had) or "dozens" of demonstrators. This is understandable to some extent as Rally for Life attendees have always been a late-arriving bunch. That said, it is not that difficult to make sure you have accurate numbers, or to stay long enough to double check your estimate.
As long as babies are being murdered in our city and in our nation, we will still be there standing up for those who cannot speak for themselves.
