Thousands of Texans marched on the Texas State Capital in Austin to promote the pro-life movement. The excitement was palpable as the seemingly neverending procession of pro-lifers marched in the street carrying signs and banners displaying anti-abortion messages on the way to the Capitol building.
Chants of “pro-life” reverberated in the city’s corridors. Activists with Christian organizations and churches sang worship songs as they walked to the beat of a drum. In one group, a man with bagpipes blared a hymn while marching with the rest of the group.
Watch on #Periscope: March For Life Austin #marchforlife2020https://t.co/tLJByjT1tz
— Jeff Charles, The Black Conservative Saint (@JeffOnTheRight) January 26, 2020
Once the pro-life parade arrived, they were treated to some good old-fashioned church as the Bethlehem Baptist Choir lifted their voice in a gospel celebration that filled the entire plaza. Songs like “Oh, Happy Day” and “We Shall Overcome” echoed throughout the area as participants sang aloud, some with tears in their eyes.
Watch on #Periscope: Got some Gospel going on at #MarchForLife in Austin! #MarchForLife2020https://t.co/ZCxPIygxAE
— Jeff Charles, The Black Conservative Saint (@JeffOnTheRight) January 26, 2020
After the music, various speakers took the stage to discuss the ongoing effort to counter the pro-abortion left in Texas and the rest of the nation. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) discussed his work at the federal government when it comes to opposing groups like Planned Parenthood, and praised President Donald Trump for appointing judges who will not serve the pro-abortion agenda.
Claire Culwell, an abortion survivor also told her story of meeting her birth mom when she became an adult. Unbeknownst to her, she was meant to be aborted along with her twin sister. While her twin did not survive the procedure, Culwell did, and is now a fierce advocate for the pro-life cause.
— Jeff Charles, The Black Conservative Saint (@JeffOnTheRight) January 25, 2020
State Rep. Jeff Leach also spoke, touting some of the successes the pro-life movement has won in the Lone Star State. Indeed, opponents of abortion have scored some significant victories over the past few years. In 2017, Gov. Greg Abbot, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Speaker Dennis Bonnen passed four pro-life bills and doubled funding for Texas’ Alternatives to Abortion program.
One piece of pro-life legislation defunded Planned Parenthood at the local level, banning contracts between political subdivisions and abortion providers. Another law compels doctors to provide a mother with an “A Woman’s Right to Know” brochure before performing the procedure. HB16, a response to the pro-abortion legislation being considered in left-leaning states, protects babies who survive an abortion attempt by levying criminal penalties against physicians who do not attempt to save the child’s life.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers told the Austin American Statesman that they estimated that the crowd size was between 5,000 and 6,000 people. There were a few protesters at the entrance to the south plaza, dressed as characters from the TV show, “A Handmaid’s Tale,” which depicts a post-apocalyptic America where women become subservient to men under a theocratic government.
The demonstration in Austin occurred one day after President Donald Trump became the first sitting president to attent the March for Life rally in Washington D.C. “Young people are the heart of the March for Life,” he said. “It’s your generation that is making America the pro-family, pro-life nation.”
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