Baltimore, Md., Mar 5, 2009 / 01:44 am
The 30th Annual Maryland March for Life will take place on Monday, March 9, organizers have announced, saying they want to rally support after pro-life defeats in the Maryland legislature and in the nomination of pro-abortion rights Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to become Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The March will begin to assemble at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Annapolis at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Archbishop of Baltimore Edwin O’Brien will celebrate Mass there at 5:30. A concurrent Evangelical prayer service will also be held.
Participants will then march to Lawyer’s Mall at the State House for a planned rally and demonstration. Bishop Harry Jackson, an African-American pro-life leader who pastors Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, will address the rally.
March organizers say recent action in the Maryland senate will be a topic of discussion.
The Maryland Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 20 defeated SB195, the Ultrasound Options Act, which would have required abortion facilities in Anne Arundel County that have ultrasound equipment to offer women the opportunity to view their ultrasound, view a printout of their ultrasound, or hear their baby’s heartbeat before going ahead with an abortion.
A statement from Maryland March for Life organizers alleged that the committee acted “against normal courtesy” by defeating State Sen. Brion Simonaire’s amendment to apply the bill statewide.
Organizers said the Maryland Senate’s action and the nomination of Gov. Sebelius might also rally pro-lifers in Maryland.
“The assault on the unborn and their mothers seems to grow every day under this new administration,” Family Protection Lobby Director Doug Stiegler said in a statement. “Governor Sebelius has done everything possible during her tenure to further the physical, emotional, and psychological destruction of women at the state level.”
Stiegler also noted Sebelius’ connections to late-term abortionist George Tiller.
“Every person across the State of Maryland should question this radical nomination of someone so closely tied to the abortion industry.”
He said that people had “let down their guard” because President Bush’s administration was “supportive” of pro-life issues.
“I want to encourage everyone who is outraged by the defeat of SB 195 and President Obama’s nomination of Governor Sibelius to join us for the 30th Annual Maryland March for Life,” Stiegler continued.
“The fight for the rights of Pregnant Women and their Unborn Children is just beginning, and it will start in Maryland on March 9th and spread across the nation as people of faith and conscience rise up and take to the streets!”