The pro-life protest was highly visible from the midst of the crowd at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, IL [Photo by EJS]
Forty members the Pro-Life Action League and other Illinois pro-life groups protested Barack Obama’s staunch support for abortion as he launched his presidential campaign at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois Saturday, February 10.
The pro-life group was unable to carry their graphic abortion and Life Yes! Obama No!” signs into the midst of the Capitol plaza because of the large crowds and police barracades. Instead, they took up a position at Sixth and Adams Streets, on the edge of the plaza and right across from the media grandstand.
“It was a providential spot for us,” commented League Communications Director Eric Scheidler. “Not only did we gain a lot of media attention, but as people left the plaza they had to walk right past our signs. Many of them were unaware of Obama’s pro-abortion extremism.”
The pro-life protest was highly visible from the midst of the crowd at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, IL [Photo by EJS]
Obama Staffers Fail To Silence Pro-Lifers
Obama staffers were extremely upset by the League protest and tried to convince Illinois state troopers and capitol police to force the group to move to a “designated” protest area several blocks away. However, the police did nothing more than instruct Joe Scheidler not to use his bullhorn.
Even without the bullhorn, the pro-life chants of “Life YES! Obama NO!” could be heard deep within the huge crowd, according to an Obama supporter who was near the speakers’ podium.
Media Covers League Protest
Many media outlets reported on the League protest in their stories on the Obama announcement, including Chicago’s NBC Channel 5, the Daily Herald, the Daily Southtown, the Southern Illinoisan, the Springfield Journal-Register and others.
Obama supporters see what Obama supports as they leave the Old State Capitol plaza [Photo by EJS]
Obama’s Abortion Record
“Barack Obama is on record calling abortion a ‘personal tragedy’ that he deeply regrets,” commented League National Director Joseph Scheidler in a press statement prior to the protest. “Yet he was one of the staunchest supporters of abortion in the Illinois Senate.”
Obama’s 100% pro-abortion voting record includes opposition to the Illinois Born Alive Infants Protection Act, denying the right of babies who survive an attempted abortion to receive medical treatment. Scheidler remarked, “Such extraordinary disregard for the lives of the most helpless members of our society disqualifies Obama from serving as our President.”
