Annette Wostl, Carol Wiese and Joyce Locke pray rosary during vigil on MLK Boulevard.
Sentinel photo by Ed Langlois
A group of more than 130 held vigil on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on Palm Sunday, concluding 40 days of protest over a proposed abortion center.
On the day, which followed a large anti-war march in downtown Portland, one van full of pro-lifers was painted with the slogan, “Peace in the Womb.”
“I believe the word of God is pretty clear about the belief we should have about unborn life,” said Vivian Parker, a retired Multnomah County Corrections counselor. She cites Psalm 139, in which the psalmist says to God, “You knit me in my mother’s womb.”
Parker, a member of close-by Maranatha Church, runs a prison ministry with her husband John. They are parents of eight and grandparents of 16.
“Nowhere,” she said, “does scripture say we are in control of our bodies.”
Parker, who grew up in Portland, says she does not want what she believes Planned Parenthood will bring to her neighborhood — a culture of promiscuity and death.
A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control makes Parker and others who lined the boulevard even more resolute. One in four U.S. teen girls has at least one sexually-transmitted disease. For African American girls, the rate is one in two.
Just down the street, three women stood shoulder-to-shoulder praying the rosary. They paused to wave at supporters who honked and ignored the occasional angry yell.
The beeps of support outnumbered signs of disapproval about 10 to 1. Most who expressed their disagreement used vulgar terms. Throughout the 40 days, vigil-holders decided to pray for their interlocutors.
Progress on the Planned Parenthood project is stalled, with no contracts for construction yet signed.
Auxiliary Bishop Kenneth Steiner was on hand. He offered an invocation before the group spread out on both sides of the bustling roadway near the intersection with Beech Street. A vacant lot on the corner may be home to Planned Parenthood, which will offer abortions there. The city’s urban renewal office helped pave the way for the project, a fact that angers many protesters.
Marshaled by a group called Precious Children of Portland, they came from Vancouver, Wash. and the Salem area and even farther. The bulk were from Northeast Portland and churches nearby. Worshipers came from Catholic, Protestant and Muslim faith communities.
Holy Rosary Parish, just a few miles away, sent a large contingent, including children. David Wendell, a reference archivist for the state of Oregon, brought his grandsons for the vigil. Joseph Lemark, 11, and his 9-year-old brother Sam stood close by their grandfather and his Knights of Columbus “Defend Life” sign, waving at cars. The boys attend Holy Rosary.
“I don’t think they should build an abortion clinic anywhere, but especially here,” said Wendell, a member of St. Boniface Parish in Sublimity. “I feel Black kids are targeted for abortion.”
Eric Trimble, 11, has learned about the issue of abortion from his parents. A student at Salmon Creek Elementary in Vancouver and a member of St. James Parish, he says that abortion is not a common conversation piece among his peers. But he is concerned anyway.
Planned Parenthood statistics show that a Black baby is more than four times as likely to be aborted than a white baby. Many on hand criticized Planned Parenthood for recently accepting a donation to open more centers in African American districts. In addition to coming to MLK regularly over the past 40 days, protesters gathered at Planned Parenthood headquarters in Southeast Portland. Vigils will continue, say organizers.
One woman who has gone through an abortion contacted 40-day vigil leaders to ask how to start a protest in the town nearest her — Medford.
In addition to Bishop Steiner, other clergy attended, including the Rev. Robert Kelley of St. Mark Baptist Church, the Rev. Mark Strong of Life Change Christian Center and the Rev. Rachel Pryor.
