News Editor
The sound of protest could be heard on campus last Sunday as pro-life demonstrators took to the corner of 12th and North to advocate their anti-abortion viewpoint.
Members of Grand Junction’s Mesa County Right to Life and Messiah Lutheran Church marched with signs reading “Abortion Kills Children” and “Jesus Saves” as part of a local expression of the national Life Chain movement.
“Mesa County Right to Life is an educational and advocacy group that promotes life issues like abortion, euthanasia and even the death penalty,” Carl Malito, President of Mesa County Right to Life said.
Mesa County Right to Life has been an active advocacy group in the Valley for over 15 years, putting on similar demonstrations while tackling multiple legislative initiatives.
“Anytime there is pro-life legislation that we believe is going to save any number of unborn babies, we’re going to get behind it,” Colleen Nycum, Mesa County Right to Life secretary said.
The group has just submitted the signatures for a legislative initiative called the Brady Bill. The Brady Bill would extend personhood rights to unborn children in the event of a car accident in which an unborn child is damaged or killed.
“We don’t want to engage in controversy or make people mad at us,” Nycum said. “We’re just trying to create awareness.”
Malito admits that activism has decreased over the years, which he attributes to shifting priorities.
“Folks are so occupied with other events that, in some ways, these life issues are taking a back seat,” Malito said. “I think our task is to raise awareness and try and focus people’s attention on what’s most important.”
Aside from roadside demonstrations, Mesa County Right to Life owns and displays numerous pro-life billboards across the Valley and holds annual candle light vigils at the courthouse on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the controversial Supreme Court decision that made abortion a legal option for states to peruse.
“Many people would think that the anniversary would be a day to be celebrated,” Malito said, “but we take a stand and protest the decision made by the Supreme Court.”
These demonstrations are not without opposition, as Malito himself admits.
“At the last few events there have been a few folks with signs that are the opposite position, making the point that it’s a woman’s body,” Malito said. “But this is another body. Nowhere do we say someone has complete control over another except in cases of abortion.”
While Mesa County Right to Life maintains a non-partisan and non-religious agenda, it does enter numerous partnerships with churches across the Grand Valley.
The Life Chain protest on 12th and North was co-sponsored by the Messiah Lutheran Church, where the demonstrators later reconvened to continue discussion on pro-life issues.
cferganc@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
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