PrintAugust 26, 2008
Voices for the Unborn on the Streets of Denver
The most visible and vocal protestors demonstrating at the Democratic National Convention are the advocates for the unborn. Virtually ignored by the media, they are everywhere and in the faces of delegates. Undaunted by the heat, the ridicule, and the tight restrictions placed on them by the city (and ignored by the main stream media) these soldiers for life battle on.
Much to the chagrin of the main stream media, the far-left has failed to produce more than a peep of a protest here in Denver. Recreate 68 hasn't even managed to recreate a successful Tupperware house party.
But the pro-life forces are everywhere. Their exhibitions are carefully planned and their demonstrations are skillfully executed.
This morning I watched more than a dozen youth, most in their early teens, write pro-life slogans on the sidewalks and the roads that led to the Pepsi Center where the convention is being held. The kids were polite but persistent. They wielded hefty pieces of colored chalk to inscribe their right-to-life mottos on the concrete and pavement.
I followed a group of Catholic pro-life protestors. They walked, in procession to the convention center, praying for the unborn. A tall middle-aged man led the retinue. He carried a large wooden crucifix. Two old men followed dragging heavy wooden crosses. Passersby openly ridiculed and hurled profanities at this pro-life parade.
Overheated by the hot noonday sun, one of the old men stumbled under the weight of his cross. A fellow protestor helped him to his feet. He reluctantly relinquished the cross to his companion; but the old man continued on the trek, vocally praying for God to give him strength.
Armed with a megaphone and a poster of an aborted fetus, pro-life speakers were stationed on strategic street corners. They challenged the people walking to and from the convention center to examine the physiological reality of abortion. These speakers were usually ignored, occasionally verbally assaulted. None, that I saw, were interviewed by the media.
Small caravans of lorries ran specific routes through the streets frequented by the convention's delegates. Huge photographs of aborted fetuses were attached to the side panels of the trucks. The impact of these depictions of the carnage of abortion, writ large, was immediate and effective. I heard more than one convention attendee express contempt for the people who dared to display such graphic images. One woman, sporting convention credentials, called the pictures "pornographic." I didn't hear any delegate admit that the pictures were real.
You probably won't see these pro-life protestors on your television, or read about them in your newspaper. But if you happen to be in Denver for the Democratic National Convention, you can't miss them.
Larrey Anderson is reporting this week from the streets of Denver on the DNC for American Thinker. Photos by Larrey Anderson and Brett Olson.
