BY DEREK MESA
Across the U.S. and Canada, multiple groups gathered on October 4th to hold the National Life Chain, protesting against abortion. Their aim is to provide a voice for unborn children and protest abortive birth controls and procedures.
This is the 35th year of this official protest, and some local Hays protesters gathered on Vine Street, right outside of the St. Joseph Cemetery on Sunday to join the nationwide demonstration.
The participants ranged from all ages, and were sporting signs that were provided by the church. Some had Pro-Life apparel such as hats or shirts. A couple attendees had “Make America Great Again” hats on, and only a few wore face coverings.
Hays resident Lester Robben, has been attending these protests since 1974.
“It’s an ongoing battle. It’s a tough one and we know we’re on the right side, so we will continue to fight,” Robben said.
Robben has always been Pro-Life, as he stated he’s apart of a big family, influencing his stance. Robben has been a part of retreats and conferences held by his church to help people whose lives are affected by abortion. He said these have helped shape his perspective as well, helping families, men and women, with the grief and regret they still hold from their procedure.
“From womb to tomb,” Robben said, along with abortion, he also mentioned he’s against the death penalty.
Robben said the response to their protest had been mostly peaceful. They had a few people drive by and yell or make crude gestures, but in his words most were peaceful.
“I’d say about 95% of the response was easily pro-life,” he said.
He said there is always someone to speak to out there if you struggle with or have been affected by this topic.
“Don’t suffer in silence.”
Diana Klaus has been attending not only these local protests, but multiple at various locations in the U.S. over the last 30 years. This is an important issue for her, as she stated she was more naive and hadn’t looked into the subject before having her own children. Since then, she has strongly advocated to end abortion practices.
“There’s no difference in the child before or after it’s born,” Klaua said, “It’s the same, it has everything in its DNA before and after it’s born. It’s hair, fingerprints, the only difference is they’re aborted because they are not wanted.”
The event lasted from 1:00-2:00pm in the afternoon. The protests remained peaceful, and the participants dispersed shortly after 2:00