Wilmington, NC (LifeNews.com) -- Hundreds of thousands of pro-life people participated in life chain events around the nation on Sunday afternoon and the events were a respectful way to share the message that abortion destroys the lives of babies before birth. But, in Wilmington, North Carolina, pro-abortion activists disrupted the event and harassed participants.

More than 1,100 people participated in the 16th Life Chain in Wilmington and they lined the streets with non-graphic pro-life signs saying women who have abortions can be healed and that they are praying for abortion to stop in the United States.

However, some abortion advocates pelted participants with eggs and some activists took the signs away from the people holding them.

Freddy Justice, director of the Wilmington Life Chain, told the Star newspaper that none of the eggs hit people, but some of them hit signs and others splattered on the ground and got on the clothing of one woman.

"We're just exercising our rights as America's citizens," Justice told the Wilmington newspaper. "We feel like abortion is murder. I realize that's not a person that can get up and walk around. We just believe that life begins at conception."

Meanwhile, one group of pro-abortion people got out of a car in front of a section of the Life Chain and stole the signs and took off in their vehicle.

There is no word on whether either of the incidents were reported to police or whether pro-life participants in the demonstration got the license plate numbers of the assailants.