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Washington demonstrations on Roe vs. Wade
A 21-year-old college student, Heinz found herself in a bind when her mother recognized the symptoms of morning sickness. Her mother made her see a gynecologist and when the pregnancy test came back positive, she encouraged her daughter to have an abortion. "She wanted it done right then and there in his office," Heinz said. "My parents had their hopes and dreams for me... They had been so proud of me. My mother couldn't handle the perceived shame that my pregnancy would bring to my family." Speaking in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington D.C. on the 35th anniversary of the court's Roe Vs. Wade ruling that legalized abortion, Heinz was one of many who stood in the rain to protest abortion by telling her story. United States Capitol Police forces looked on from stationary posts on the stairs of the Supreme Court while signs that read "I regret my abortion," "Planned Parenthood exploits college women" and "Doesn't everyone deserve a birth day?" floated above a river of marchers through the streets around the mall. The 2008 March for Life, held January 22, featured a large number of young pro-life demonstrators. Earlier that morning, via video from the White House, President Bush addressed the gathered crowd. "Today we're heartened - we're heartened by the news that the number of abortions is declining," he said. "But the most recent data reports that more than one in five pregnancies end in an abortion." The announcement of nominations for this year's Oscars coincided with the march, notable for the fact that "Juno," a film hailed as remarkably prolife, was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay in addition to its star, Ellen Page, for Best Actress. The film, which follows a high school girl's decision to keep her baby, is one of five recently noted by the Philadelphia Inquirer to reject abortion. The cultural trend may have a part in higher numbers of participants at the March for Life in recent years, making it the most attended annual march in Washington D.C. Heinz told the crowd this year that, after pressure from her mother and indifference from her boyfriend, she had an abortion. Looking back years later after she had accepted Christ, Heinz said God made it known to her that she had two things of great value to Him, her face and her testimony. "There needs to be a face to abortion," she said. "There needs to be a testimony to it." Another woman, Nancy Thomas, said she was a 23-yearold college-educated Christian when she learned she was pregnant. In worry, she called a doctor she found in a phone book who encouraged her to have an abortion. "In the months that followed I cried from sorrow and regret rather than from relief," Thomas said. "I cried when I saw pregnant women, I cried when I saw little babies. Somedays I just cried." Thomas said she often awakened from nightmares in which she dreamed she was killing someone. Years later she said a friend took her to a counselor who brought her to a turning point. The counselor asked her if she believed God forgives her, to which she replied yes. The counselor then asked if Thomas was living in that forgiveness. The answer was no. At the March for Life, Thomas said that she has found life in God's forgiveness today, quoting Romans 8:1.
"His forgiveness allows me to forgive myself and those involved with my abortion," she said. "Living in His forgiveness has lifted the darkness from my life, my home and my family."
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