Pro-life activists flock to Olympia for annual rally
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OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Pro-life demonstrators believe momentum in the country is switching back to their side, and thousands of them gathered Tuesday in Olympia to mark the 40th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision to legalize abortion.
About 3,500 pro-life supporters arrived in Olympia on Tuesday for their yearly march, but many said this year's event took on a new sense of urgency.
Esther Ripplinger of Milton said she got an abortion when she was 19-years old at the insistence of the baby's father.
"I miss the loss of my daughter," she said. "I know that someone is missing in my heart."
Ripplinger joined several hundred other pro-life demonstrators to deliver a message to the state that abortion is wrong. Each year the march fills the Capitol steps, but for the first time ever the group actually filled up the steps of the state supreme court this year.
"I'm here on the 40th anniversary of that terrible decision, Roe v Wade," said Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley.
Padden recently introduced a bill that would require parents to be notified if their underage daughter tries to get an abortion.
"I mean, right now you can't even get a tattoo if you're a minor," he said. "Other things, like if you need an aspirin at school, you need parental permission."
Democrats, who control the House, oppose Padden's bill.
"I do believe that if a young woman is old enough that she gets pregnant, then she is in charge of her body," said Rep. Eileen Cody, D-West Seattle.
Cody's party does support the Reproductive Parity Act ensuring abortions are covered when new federal health care coverage takes effect.
"We need to have this bill in place to ensure that women have their choice intact," said Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens.
Republican lawmakers who were out in force at Tuesday's rally say there's now way the Reproductive Parity Act will make it through the GOP-led Senate.
In fact, it's entirely possible that neither bill will even get a hearing in the opposite house since they don't have the votes to pass them.
That's the new reality in a legislature that has Democrats controlling the House and a coalition of Republicans and two Democrats controlling the Senate.
About 3,500 pro-life supporters arrived in Olympia on Tuesday for their yearly march, but many said this year's event took on a new sense of urgency.
Esther Ripplinger of Milton said she got an abortion when she was 19-years old at the insistence of the baby's father.
"I miss the loss of my daughter," she said. "I know that someone is missing in my heart."
Ripplinger joined several hundred other pro-life demonstrators to deliver a message to the state that abortion is wrong. Each year the march fills the Capitol steps, but for the first time ever the group actually filled up the steps of the state supreme court this year.
"I'm here on the 40th anniversary of that terrible decision, Roe v Wade," said Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley.
Padden recently introduced a bill that would require parents to be notified if their underage daughter tries to get an abortion.
"I mean, right now you can't even get a tattoo if you're a minor," he said. "Other things, like if you need an aspirin at school, you need parental permission."
Democrats, who control the House, oppose Padden's bill.
"I do believe that if a young woman is old enough that she gets pregnant, then she is in charge of her body," said Rep. Eileen Cody, D-West Seattle.
Cody's party does support the Reproductive Parity Act ensuring abortions are covered when new federal health care coverage takes effect.
"We need to have this bill in place to ensure that women have their choice intact," said Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens.
Republican lawmakers who were out in force at Tuesday's rally say there's now way the Reproductive Parity Act will make it through the GOP-led Senate.
In fact, it's entirely possible that neither bill will even get a hearing in the opposite house since they don't have the votes to pass them.
That's the new reality in a legislature that has Democrats controlling the House and a coalition of Republicans and two Democrats controlling the Senate.
These people look so much better than those angry, radical haters!
@Lana Griffith Those are the radical haters.
There were 4,000-5,000 people there. My estimate came from the patrolmen working there and from a state legislator. Just so we all know. The several hundred participants listed is a farce.
Regarding Eilene Cody's comments: since lots of girls are getting pregnant before they can actually consent to sex, how can she believe that the ability to get pregnant connotes the maturity to make her own decision about telling her parents? In all the world of rights and responsibilities of consent, driving, drinking, emancipation, etc. why are young girls singled out for invasive procedures that can contribute to their future risk of breast cancer (abortion increases risk by about 46% over the normal risk) or could leave a young girl unable to conceive in the future, or leave her with serious depression as a young adult?Â
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If we single out young girls for this responsibility, then we also need to lower the age for juvenile court so all adolescents who make all types of grown up, spur of the moment decisions are treated equally. Don't single out female children!
 @Juliana There is no increased risk of breast cancer from abortion. It is an absolute lie, not based on scientific evidence, and has been proven that there is no correlation between abortion and breast cancer. One in three women have had an abortion is their lifetime - if your "46%" risk calculation was even conceivable, that would mean approximately one out of six women in the U.S. would have breast cancer RIGHT NOW. See how ridiculous that claim is? The only abortion that "leaves a young girl unable to conceive in the future" would be an unsafe, illegal abortion obtained in lieu of a safe, legal abortion. Abortion is actually 14 times safer than completing a pregnancy. Additionally, there is no increased risk of depression. Again, a lie used to perpetrate the myth that abortion has a lasting negative impact. I say, if one has to use lies, myths, and unsound "studies," to trick people, how is the anti-choice position the right one? Human reproduction is too variable to support a blanket ban on abortion. Both the "studies" showing a link between breast cancer and abortion and depression and abortion were seriously flawed and have been fully debunked by actual scientific studies.
Lots of haters out there! Lots of people showing their true colors when it comes to the First Amendment basic freedoms for religion, free speech and peaceful assembly. Lots of ignorance displayed about human development also. I am guessing the pro-choicers are also going to be favoring euthanasia for people in comas soon, even before we truly understand what brain death really is or when it really starts. Is it too much trouble to actually do some research before you comment? Or are you still holding on to the lies PP and others told you years ago?Â
 @Juliana Ding, ding... another 'hate' bomb launcher.  Easily bandied about when another's opinion does not fall in line with yours.  Euthanasia?  How about death with dignity.  Which by the way has serious requirements around it before it can be exercised.  Yes, I know, this is difficult to comprehend.  You are inclined to, and must be involved in others' lives.  When in reality it is none of your business.  And you are afforded the same.  So, you'll have to excuse me now while I go run  with scissors.
Tis a shame that all of these pro-lifers were not aborted....
Men should not have a say in this issue. Only women should debate and vote on this issue.
These people need to get a life and quit trying to tell other people how to live their lives.Â
If Liberal want abortion, than let them.One less Liberal voter in the long run.Â
@Tacobender50 I was going to be very sarcastic towards you but .....
When I see those same people pushing sex education for kids in school, not fighting about medical plans providing free birth control to anyone who needs it, providing care and support for unwed mothers, teaching their sons that it takes two to make a baby and he is just as responsible for it as she is, and providing foster homes for unwanted children, then I will believe that they are serious about preventing abortion. Until we find a way to prevent accidential pregnancy, women will find a way to obtain an abortion if they desire one. Every child has the right to be raised in a loving home, why don't you put your energy into seeing to it that they are, and then maybe we can prevent abortion.Â
I was with you up until you said "teaching their sons that it takes 2 to make a baby and he is just as responsible for it as she is..." They already do teach "their" sons that. In fact, its the law and he will be financially responsible for the child even if he was a rape victim, or in the state of Kansas, a sperm donor. And we have already found ways to prevent unplanned pregnancies. It's called emergency contraceptive pills (ECP) and devices (IUD), both of which puts the responsibility, choice and decision on the woman to give or not give birth to unwanted children. Her abortion rights make it even more abundantly clear that she has no excuse to blame (except to reimburse half the cost) "their sons" for having unwanted children out of wedlock from an "accidental pregnancy."
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So, please cut the crap with all the misandy, and make an honest arguement with your other valid points.
@OHREALLY??? Methinks you forgot to mention condoms....or don't you teach your sons about their responsibility...
 @clem77 I didn't mention birth control pills either, so what?
 @OHREALLY??? I"m afraid the meaning of your post wasn't quite clear to me. Are you trying to say that men are being responsible for the children they help create? Or are you just complaining about a couple of odd cases that caused a couple of men to be held responsible for the babys that were  created against their will? I agree, in the case of a man being raped or a sperm donor, neither one should be required to support a child they didn't want but those two cases are far from the norm. And if you are saying they are...then you need to cut the crap.
They believe momentum is shifting to their side again? I guess they missed the last election where all the uber pro life guys got aborted at the polls.......
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 @the unvarnished truth  @AidenagÂ
One percent of the electorate does not make a mandate.
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I love how the ultra left twists things around. I am pro choice, but I do not want tax dollars paying for abortions or "free" contraceptives. It all starts at home, and with education.
It's all about choice. You can make the choice with what options you wish to choose from with your body and others have the same right with theirs. Abortions are carried out for a number of reasons. Not just the 'I don't wanna be a mommy' reason that many from the 'pro-life' side of the fence tout. There's a great number that are done out of medical reasons, i.e. the fetus won't live to term, the pregnancy will ultimately kill the mother if allowed to go to term, just to name a few. Forced violent rape is another reason.
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I don't pretend to understand the pro's and con's that someone considers when contemplating a decision like that. I also consider myself very fortunate not to have been in a position where I have had to. While the 'save every baby' slogan is an awfully nice one, it also bears as much resemblance to reality as leave it to beaver does.
Would you say the same thing about slavery if you lived during the slave era? "I personally would not own a slave, but I can't tell others what to do, so my neighbor can own one if he wants to..."
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It's not a choice about the woman's body because science clearly demonstrates that the child inside is not PART of the woman's body! The baby has it's own unique DNA, does it not? Babies can have a different blood type, or be a different gender of the mom! Tell me how that makes the baby "part" of the woman? Living inside the woman? Sure, for a short amount of time. We all lived within our own mother's womb for a time. It did not make us our mother's body.
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Do you see that sometimes, it is not about personal choice, when a third party is involved? A slave, a child. Sometimes we have to step in because life is important.
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I'm convinced that one day abortion will be looked on as a barbaric, tragic part of our history - just as slavery is.
@Kayleen C A slave ? It would behoove all of you pro-choice religious kooks to mind your own business...
 @Kayleen C
 The 1800's called, they say they want you back.Â
This is about your body and how you need to treat it. What health care options you wish to consider. Â Most importantly, Â that every woman has the right to decide for herself.Â
 @Kayleen C
 The difference you're confused about is between a fetus and a fully formed baby. The difference, is quite profound.
@what? So basically you don't really care if it is a baby or not? Whatever it is, the mother has the right to do with it what she wishes? What, can I ask you, is the difference between a baby on it's birthday, and the day before, or even moments before it is born?
 @Kayleen C Your comparison of an embryo and that of a born, living and breathing human being is nonsensical.  Can you be serious?  Abortion compared to slavery?  Absurd.  Maybe you need to educate yourself on the dramatic differences.  Congratulations; one of the more radical and disjointed analogies I have seen in some time.  <speechless>
 @Kayleen C Perfect analogy?  The unborn to live functioning human beings?  The ownership of persons vs terminating a pregnancy?  It is disturbing that there are persons out there that do think they are one of the same and there is no comparison.Â
 @Kayleen C Understood.  With the aid of the Host (mother).  The baby as you describe it is completely incapable of surviving on its own.  You and those who tow the line you shall define will split hairs.  The fact remains, it is none, zero your business.
 @Kayleen C I said radical... with a 'd' not racial.  Please read above.  You must read and comprehend the details.
@d_2 Plus, it's not racial. Lots of kinds of people were enslaved, not just blacks. When the America's were first discovered - Europeans actually debated whether or not Native Americans were humans with souls, so they wondered if it was okay to kill them?
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It's a perfect analogy to modern day abortion. We are debating the humanity of the unborn - just as they debated the humanity of slaves, Indians, Jews, any number of people! I don't see how this is a disjointed in any way.....?
@d_2 babies breathe in the womb. So, they are living and breathing too :)
 @Kayleen C Epic fail.......... keep on convincing yourself sweetie.......... just dont hold your breath. A woman has the right to choose, simple as that. Those cells cannot survive independently....... Slavery and abortion???? really??? wow.........
 @Kayleen C This only confirms that you have the complete inability to understand the difference between one and the other. Â
@Susabelle Those cells? Guess what, my 6 month old son cannot survive independently either...does that mean I have the right to kill him? I am his mother after all.
They probably had darn near as many guns in that crowd as the NRA demonstration did.
All the times when this comes up I ask the question of what about fathers rights ? It took two people to form this life. This should be a private decision made by both parties. Let's not go into the exceptions already available for victims of rape and incest.Â
@Maynard G Krebbs Sorry Maynard...It is strictly a woman's choice..the guy has absolutely no say in it whatsoever...
Unless of course he is pregnant....
 @Maynard G Krebbs Too bad the majority of people don't teach their sons that they are just as resonsible for the baby as the female is. Maybe if they did, there would be fewer unwed mothers and fewer abortions. Commonly, the male expect the female to worry about whether a pregnancy happens. Many of them don't care, and just walk away when they find out a woman is pregnant. Should that woman then have to have his permission to do whatever she thinks is right for her?
 @justmyopinion  Too bad the majority of people don't teach their sons that they are just as responsible for the baby as the female is? Really? How about rewording it as, Too bad the majority of people don't teach their daughters not to be sluts, and they would not have to deal with this. It goes both ways as you can see. I know a guy who is hurt because his ex got a abortion and he could do nothing to stop it. Men have rights to this also. It's not only about women. For years women scream about being equal, well make it that way on everything.
 @justmyopinion I guess if she didn't want to have a baby she should have been on the pill or better yet not spread her legs. Stop putting this all on the guy. It is both party's and if they both lay down and act like adults and have sex, they can both figure out what is best. I don't give a rats a** who has a abortion or who does not. It is not fair for women to say its my body, only I can choose and your feelings don't mean crap to me, until I need to get you into bed.
 @Just my say If your friend didn't want his girlfriend to get an abortion, he shouldn't have impregnated her. No pregnancy, no abortion...simple as that.
Pro life? No, they are pro birth, once you're born, you're on your own! They'll support you alright. Once you turn 18, and join the service to fight a corporate war.... THEN they'll slap a bumper sticker on their cars and yell SUPPORT THE TROOPS! except when a soldier needs government sponsored health and mental care, then to hell with em!
@Steve Giovanis Not true. Simply not true. I can give you an exhaustive list of pregnancy centers and support networks for mothers in crisis. If you know someone that needs help, you just need to ask and help will be there.
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"Please don't kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted, and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child, and be loved by the child. From our children's home in Calcutta alone, we have saved over 3,000 children from abortions. These children have brought such love and joy to their adopting parents, and have grown up so full of love and joy!" -Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Unfortunately Mother Teresa doesn't live in the USA, and our country is not quite as loving and giving as she was. Let's find a way to prevent unplanned pregnancys and then we wouldn't have to have this discussion. How about insurance companys paying for birth control? and we provide sex education to children at school when they need it, instead of fighting to keep it out because God forbid, the kids might have sex if we teach them how it works... well, Â guess what? The kids are having sex anyway and they need the education to protect themselves against STDs and unplanned babies.
 @Steve Giovanis Extrapolate much?
Read freakonomics http://www.freakonomics.com/books/freakonomics/chapter-excerpts/chapter-4/
I would have a hard time if my wife had an abortion, and I can only imagine very few reasons, but ultimately, she carries the baby to term and then some. Women need the freedom of choice.
But... but pregnancy rarely occurs when there is legitimate rape....  < whacko.  The religious right needs to mind their own business and leave others alone.  Abortion while I will not entertain the idea, should be determined by the mother and not managed the the so-called moral majority.  The same moral majority that will bomb clinics and kill doctors.  In my opinion the moment that an embryo matures to the point where it is able to survive outside of the womb without the mother as a host, it should be considered a child.  In the other extreme, if I were on life support and not able to live w/o the aid of machines I should be able to gracefully terminate my life.  There is a difference between living and existing.  These are choices that the person should be afforded and not dictated by others.  Oh... and breaking news to the religious extremists...  one can have morals without organized religion.  History shows that religion is by far, very far the largest instigator of killing others in the name of 'their' god.  Anyone remember the Crusades?  I want no part of it, and surely do not want others pushing it on me.  I don't bother them and expect the same in return.  I don't tell them what to do, and they should respectfully do the same.Â
My sister in law started college during the 2008 election.
She and her friends were scared to death of Sara Palin, because she was going to take away her right to have an abortion!
I asked her if she was planning on having one. She said no, and eventually dropped out, got pregnant, and has a beautiful daughter.
My point is that any election is not one single issue!
The Republican Party needs to drop the "opposite" agenda.
Itâs ok to not condone or approve of abortion, but take the position of not overturning Roe verse Wade. I know many, many Democratâs that are against abortion too!!!
I know many Democratâs that are pro-gun, and Republicanâs that are anti-gun, Â but that seems to have divided us too!!!
Its ok to raise revenue, i.e. taxes,. if itâs the only way, but still cut wasteful spending.
We need to get over these single issue differences.
The United States is becoming the laughting stock of the socialist and communist world.
 @AKjohn That's great news about your sister! But it is hard to get over these single issue differences as you put it when there are 3,288 abortions performed every day on average. It's not about our single issue differences. It's about ending the life of 1 child every 27 seconds.Â
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 @javajoe  @AKjohn And just where would we put all these unwanted babies? In your backyard maybe??? We are over populated as it is. Please, why dont you pick a cause that actually would do some good instead of spouting nonsense.
 @Kayleen C  @Susabelle  @javajoe  @AKjohn THAT'S SO AWESOME KAYLEEN C, because there are far more foster children ALREADY in the system than there are permanent homes! You guys just get on out there and adopt all those foster kids - then get back to us. Oh wait, your friends only want NEWBORNS. Human reproduction is too variable to support a blanket ban on abortion or even restrictions that are too severe. The choice to continue a pregnancy should rest with the woman alone, and possibly her doctor. Stop worshiping the false idol fetus. A pregnant woman does not owe an infertile couple a child, and a woman who does not wish (or is forced to end her pregnancy by misfortune) to be pregnant is not a baby factory. Finally, abortions are no less prevalent where they are prohibited, just less safe. Historically, prohibition of abortion in the United States proved to be deadly to women. No going back. Also, not that you specifically addressed this, (although the story leads with anti-choicers claiming that they're gaining an advantage), but the idea that the anti-choice position is gaining ground is false. Support for the availability and legality of abortion is historically consistent and shows that nearly 70% of people in the United States support abortion with no or little limitations. Additionally, did you know that 1 out of 3 women in the U.S. has had an abortion in her lifetime? Anti-choicers are just pretending they abhor abortion...they only loath other people's abortions. The abortions that they themselves get are justified now, aren't they?
 @Kayleen C Â
Bingo! So many people want to adopt a newborn......not so many lining up to adopt the poor little kids who live years being unwanted, roving through the system hoping for a home where they are loved.........only to age-out from the foster system.
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Who is desperate to adopt those kids who are no longer babies, and may have emotional issues from not having a stable home environment?Â
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I bet you can think of "several that you personally know" because you and those you personally know are that kind of Christian. All talk and no walk.
 @Kayleen C And how many mixed race babies are those couples willing to take? How many abused children are they willing to take through the foster care system? How many physically and mentally challenged children are they willing to raise? Those are the babys and children that no one seems to want. If we outlaw abortion, how many more will go without a home? I don't like abortion myself, but how many do you think you are preventing by marching on Olympia on the anniversay of Roe VS Wade? Maybe instead of demanding people agree with your way of thinking, it would make more sense to put that energy into preventing pregnancy. Maybe some of your people could learn the truth about Planned Parenthood, and work with them instead of against them. That might actually have some effect on the abortion rate in the future, but I can guarantee you, your march on Olympia didn't help a bit.
@Susabelle @javajoe @AKjohn Lol. Sure, they can live in my back yard :) The thing is, the world is not overpopulated, we are actually headed toward a population crisis. Also, how many infertile couples do you know that are desperate to adopt a newborn? Because I can think of several that I personally know.
 @javajoe:Â
And OF COURSSE you have verifiable proof of that number, from a party that has no stake in the outcome either way, right? Put up or shut up. Cite a source.