Pro-Life College Students Meet in Washington After Nationwide Walk on Abortion
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 14, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Three groups of pro-life college students will converge in the nation’s capital on Saturday after spending months in a cross-country walking trip to bring awareness about the horrors of abortion. This weekend, 40 young people walking with the pro-life group Crossroads, will conclude their journey.
The students encountered a warm welcome and outpouring of support from pro-life Americans as they passed through 36 states, thousands of municipalities, towns and cities, and logged 10,000 miles collectively during the summer pilgrimage.
James Nolan, president and chief counsel of Crossroads Pro-Life, told LifeNews.com today that the trip reinforced the polling data out recently showing a majority of Americans are pro-life.
"While the latest polling data is encouraging, we have long known that America is a pro-life country because, unlike polls that take a small, phone-based sample, we have had the advantage of directly interacting with thousands of Americans," he said. "And the support for the rights of the innocent, unborn has always been in the majority."
"The reality is that the Obama Administration is sadly out of touch with the values of mainstream America," Nolan continued. "We know because what we experience firsthand from local authorities, citizenry and civic groups is in stark contrast to the strident stances now coming from the leadership in Washington, D.C."
Nolan talked about one experience that sticks out as evidence of the political realities pro-life advocates face today.
He said the ill effects of such wrong-headed policies as the so-called extremist list that named pro-lifers as a threat were on display as a group of walkers sought to traverse the federally run Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.
Three female walkers were stopped immediately before entering the park by a male ranger who said they would not be permitted to continue unless they changed out of their pro-life t- shirts. The shirts are solid colors with the words "Pro- Life" emblazoned on the front.
Nolan said the ranger said pro-abortion people in the park might find the shirts offensive.
After getting legal help, the walkers were eventually allowed to continue.
"There is no doubt in our minds that this was a case of thinly veiled harassment based on nothing more than political ideology," Nolan said.
"We’ve seen this in the past from certain authority figures, but never before has it been so emboldened by an Administration that chooses to portray concerned young citizens as pseudo- terrorists. It is shameful, and frankly a great waste of national resources at a time when the economy is already suffering," he told LifeNews.com.
Since 1995, Crossroads has organized 12 week long walks across America from the Pacific coast to Washington.
A walk in Canada is also concluding that saw marchers go from Toronto to Ottawa.
During the journey, each walker averages over 1,000 miles and takes an active role in the organization’s mission by speaking to parishes and pro-life groups. Crossroads walkers also engage local communities through peaceful, prayerful protests and sidewalk counseling at abortion centers in the cities they travel through along the way.
Related web sites:
Crossroads – https://www.crossroadswalk.com
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