A Gainesville political organization held a protest and vigil Wednesday evening outside a local church to celebrate the anniversary of the controversial Roe v. Wade court decision.
The Gainesville chapter of the National Organization of Women held the vigil on the sidewalk outside of the St. Augustine Church and Catholic Student Center, 1738 W. University Ave., to recognize the 1973 court decision that ruled women’s privacy freedoms extended to abortion rights.
The event consisted of about 15 attendees with lit candles holding signs and talking about their personal experiences with abortion.
Katy Burnett, the president of Gainesville NOW, said she wanted the event to make a statement to the church that shaming women who seek abortions is not acceptable.
Burnett said women die around the world every day trying to induce their own abortions because the procedure is illegal where they live.
“We won’t go back to that in the U.S., and we’re willing to fight for it,” she said.
Burnett said that the vigil is also in response to recent legislation that forced one-third of Texas abortion clinics to shut down.
The organization chose to hold the vigil in front of St. Augustine Church because members had seen Catholic churchgoers protesting in front of the Bread and Roses Women’s Health Center on numerous occasions, Burnett said.
The Rev. Anthony Eseke, a priest at St. Augustine Church, said his church doesn’t sponsor the clinical protests, but it does encourage members of the congregation to actively express their faith.
Eseke said that the church was open to the vigil and understands that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.
“We welcome the celebration of diversity, and this protest is a reminder that we can agree to disagree,” he said.
The view of abortion as a sin is a fundamental Christian belief, Eseke said, and there shouldn’t be a compromise on human life.
Among those who shared personal experiences was 64-year-old Catherine Akins.
The retired high school teacher recalled her near-death experience undergoing an illegal abortion in 1968 before Roe v. Wade made the procedure legal.
“I hope that all these young people never have to go through that,” Akins said. “I hear all these gun advocates talking about the right to own a gun, but we don’t even have the right to own our body.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 1/23/2014 under the headline "Roe v. Wade anniversary spurs protest, vigil and discussion"]
Protesters line up in front of St. Augustine Church on W. University Avenue Wednesday afternoon to acknowledge the 41st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973.
