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By GARY REMAL
Staff Writer 01/13/2008

enlarge Staff photo by Joe Phelan

SOLEMN ANNIVERSARY: Anti-abortion protesters hold signs and watch as Bishop Richard Malone tolls the bell 35 times, one for each year since Roe vs. Wade, on Saturday morning at the Statehouse in Augusta.

enlarge Staff photo by Joe Phelan

MEMORIAL: Maine Right to Life Committee president Linda Milliken, right, drops a red rose after Bishop Richard Malone hit the bell with a rubber mallet on Saturday morning at the Statehouse in Augusta.

enlarge Staff photo by Joe Phelan

PROTEST: Anti-abortion protesters walk past a display of 35 baby outfits hanging on a clothesline on Capital Street on Saturday morning near the Statehouse in Augusta.

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"We come together to mourn and protest the 35th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade," Maine Right to Life Committee President Linda Milliken told a crowd of nearly 300 people gathered for the annual "Hands Around the Capitol" event Saturday.

"We come from all over the state, we come from all walks of life and many different backgrounds," Milliken said, "but we are united in our conviction that abortion kills children, hurts women and poisons the society that promotes it."

The organization president said those gathered in Augusta Saturday are committed, not only to change the law that allows abortion, but also to changing attitudes by convincing people that "abortion is always wrong."

Several participants mentioned how difficult the January weather has been for protesters in past years and how Saturday's mild temperatures and blue skies boosted the crowd that showed up for the march to the Statehouse.

"I've never seen such a large crowd," said Carl Maddaleni of the Maine Vitae Society, a group that promotes pro-life messages to young people.

Bob Emrich, the organization's delegate to the National Right to Life Board of Directors, urged those in the audience and leaders of other anti-abortion organizations to work together for their cause, looking forward to a time when the laws will change in Congress or the courts, rendering the need for their annual protests moot.

"We're looking forward to working with you a lot this year, unless it isn't necessary, which would be a lot better," Emrich told the crowd.

Joanna Said of Livermore, at the protest with her two sons, said she comes to the annual event every year she is able, both to add her voice to try to convince federal and state legislators and judges to change the law as well as to convince pregnant women that alternatives to abortion exist.

"Children are a gift from God," Said said. "People call abortion a choice. I don't think we have a choice."

Said explained that getting pregnant was very difficult for her. Many people who are infertile for whatever reason would welcome a baby to adopt, she said, providing a real option for women and girls who find themselves with unwanted pregnancies.

"I just want to stand up to tell women if they're pregnant, that child would be a gift to women like me who are infertile and that there are resources to help them as well," Said said.

She said she knows women in her own life who have had abortions and have felt guilt and regret the rest of their lives. Portland Catholic Diocese Bishop Richard Malone urged those who attended to keep their spirits high despite the serious nature of the debate over abortion.

"It can be depressing," Malone said, "but we have to be hopeful people that this is God's work."

Malone rang the bell on the north side of the Statehouse complex 35 times, once for each year since the landmark Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court edict, while Milliken spread 35 red roses to symbolize the same anniversary.

Although Emrich said the Maine Right to Life Committee does not endorse political candidates, Republican 1st Congressional District candidate Dean Scontras was introduced at the podium and spoke to the rally, assuring those in attendance that he was "unequivocally pro-life."

"I will never put politics ahead of principle," he promised.

Gary Remal -- 621-5642

gremal@centralmaine.com

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