by Rusty Pugh
CHARLOTTE, NC (AgapePress) – The nation's largest pro-life gathering got underway yesterday in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The 29th Annual National Right to Life Convention is an opportunity for pro-life supporters to come together to hear well-known experts talk about the latest developments in the areas of abortion, infanticide, and physician-assisted suicide, from legislative efforts to educational efforts. National Right to Life spokeswoman Laura Echevarria says it is also an opportunity for pro-lifers to share information “and just recharge their batteries, to be around other pro-lifers, and to talk about the pitfalls and the triumphs with dealing with this issue in their hometowns and in their communities.”
According to Echevarria, the convention features many workshops on various aspects of the pro-life movement, giving pro-life advocates the chance to “immerse themselves” in the latest information on pro-life issues. In addition to the workshops, speakers scheduled include Christian entertainer Pat Boone, director of Priests for Life Rev. Frank Pavone, and FOX TV talk-show host Sean Hannity.
Echevarria says this is the largest educational gathering of pro-life supporters in the country, with about 1,200 people expected to attend throughout the three-day event. The theme for the convention, which ends Saturday night, is “Working Together … For Their Lives.”
State-Funded Abortions
While pro-lifers gather in Charlotte, pro-abortion activists in Idaho have gone back to court to void a renewed attempt by that state to ban taxpayer-financed abortions “necessary to protect the health of the mother.” Despite declarations by pro-life advocates that the prohibition is constitutional, attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood of Idaho were confident that the state courts would stand by a 1994 ruling that found the ban unconstitutional. Without court intervention, the ban would take effect July 1.
The bill cleared the legislature easily last winter, but not before an unprecedented protest on the senate floor. State figures show that Idaho paid for 188 “health-related” abortions with state taxpayer money during the first five years after the 1994 ruling.
(This update courtesy of Agape Press.)
