On Sunday, Oct. 2nd, you might have noticed some peaceful picketers along S. College and Market between 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. These were Pro-Life protestors with an organization called "Life Chain," which aims to "unite in prayer and stand up for the rights of the unborn." This is a national effort and has been going on annually on October 2nd for just one hour for 26 years.
Why haven't we heard about this?
Curious about this effort, I pulled over into a church parking lot and interviewed one of the picketers, Sondra North. After talking with her for a few minutes, I learned that she was the woman with the information. Without looking at a piece of paper, she had memorized dozens of statistics, personal accounts with planned parenthood, etc.
It was difficult to hear her at times because of the cars along S. College Road, but every now and then the noise would die down and I would hear her passion echo as she spoke. She was holding a sign that she told me she had been using for years since the event began. The organization/event "Local Life Chain" is religiously affiliated, but they are not confined to one particular Christian denomination or are not affiliated with any one church.
"I would say this," she told me as raucous died down. "The health of women is too important, the truth [sic] of this issue is too important for certain members of the media to keep turning it into 'women's rights, women's right.' How about the survival of women in a healthy state? How about having women who can live out a life not full of guilt, not full of health problems, not full of emotional turmoil, because hey have been lied to? You are promoting a decision that [could] affect them negatively for the rest of their lives.
"We don't have a problem with what we do," she continued, "because we know that we care about women. We call women the 'second victim.' We never ever blame women, because you are in such an emotional state when you have to go through this and don't have the support you need... It's a terrible for women, it's a terrible tragedy for the children... [and] men are left out of the decision process [as well] and told they don't matter, but we all matter."
I thanked her for speaking with me before heading toward the Life Chain tent in front of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church off S. College. There I met the director of the organization, a man with shock on his face when he found out I was a student and was not there to yell at him. He shook my hand and gave me a name that suited his mission: Freddy Justice.
He told me how this event was meant as a silent vigil and participants are not supposed to argue or debate with others, they are merely there to hold up a sign for awareness and pray for the passers-by. Anyone is allowed to participate and the others offered me a sign multiple times, eager to gain more followers.
Members who participated in Local Life Chain 2016 informed me about prayer vigils held at New Hanover hospital, as well. For those interested in the group, please refer to their website linked here.
I chose to cover this story simply because I did not see anyone else covering it in local media. Whether one is pro-life or pro-choice, every story and protest of this grandeur must be told. People deserve to know. Hundreds of people believed in a cause to the point of silently lining the Wilmington roads for an hour with signs and smiles. I didn't think that should be swept under the rug.
