Abortion opponents raise voices at rally (Indiana)

.journalgazette.net ^ | January 17, 2016 | Dave Gong | The Journal Gazette

[Morgana]

Saturday marked Allen County Right to Life’s annual March for Life, held each year around the date of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide.

A large crowd of pro-life supporters gathered at the University of Saint Francis Performing Arts Center to hear from several speakers, including local activists, doctors and politicians. After the rally, the crowd marched to the E. Ross Adair Federal Building on South Harrison Street.

There were political, medical and spiritual overtones during Saturday’s rally as Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., Dr. Christina Francis, the event’s keynote speaker, and various members of Fort Wayne’s clergy criticized Planned Parenthood and called for an end to legal abortion.

Francis, an OB-GYN who practices in Fort Wayne, said attacks against abortion-rights opponents have increased in recent years. In response, Francis said the anti-abortion community must “rephrase the argument.”

“First, at least half of the pre-born children being killed by abortion are likely female. What about the war being waged on them? Do they not count to those that are defending the rights of women?” Francis said. “Second, the actual war on women is abortion, which not only has significant potential immediate complications but also has an extremely negative impact on a woman’s long-term health.”

Francis said she believes abortion has “no health benefit whatsoever” for a woman or a fetus. She also linked abortion to breast cancer, stating that women who have abortions are more likely to develop cancer over the course of their lifetime.

“Did you know that having one abortion increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer by about 30 percent?” Francis asked the crowd. “A woman who has three or more abortions increases her breast cancer (risk) by 165 percent.”