About 20 cities in Romania will simultaneously hold a March for Life on Saturday, March 24, 2012. Never before have so many cities in Romania participated in the annual pro-life event.
“It seems to be the hour of God!” said Gerda Chisarau, director of the Gift of Life Association, and affiliate of Human Life International (HLI).
Pro-life organizations across Romania have banded together to promote the event on Saturday.
Flyer for March for Life in Romania.
“The intention of this event is to raise awareness about the genocide of the Romanian nation for 55 years through the practice of abortion and serious demographic decline taking place under our eyes,” according to organizers. Unless urgent action is taken by the people of Romania to protect life and families, the groups warn, there will be “an unprecedented social and economic disaster” in Romania.
Recent news reports show data published by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that Romania has the highest abortion rate in Europe: 480 abortions for every 1,000 live births. That rate is more than twice the average abortion rate in the European Union.
Larisa Iftime, president of the Pro-Vita media association in Romania, told LifeSiteNews recently that while part of the devastatingly high abortion rate in the country of 22 million is attributable to the legalization of abortion after the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s Communist regime, an abortion mentality has been established by foreign aid financing of abortion, contraception and sterilization, along with promoting abortion availability under the “idea of women’s rights.”
“This distorted idea of freedom was promoted by different international pro-abortion organizations, like International Planned Parenthood Federation and [international abortion provider] Marie Stopes, which established their offices in Romania right after 1989,” said Iftime. “They began to aggressively promote abortion and contraception in our country. Of course, the view of ‘woman’s rights’ was embraced by the secular media and by the liberal intellectual elite.”
Romania’s pro-life organizations have also adopted a statement that will be released to the media and presented to politicians at the march.
“During the march will be released a [statement] addressed to the political class,” the groups state. “As it is necessary to adopt an attitude and life and family-friendly laws, given that Romania has the highest abortion rate of all EU countries and suffers a sharp deterioration in the social importance of family.”
LifeNews.com Note: Reprinted with permission from Human Life International’s World Watch forum. Adam Cassandra is a Communications Specialist at Human Life International.
