Sunday, Jan. 22, marked the 39th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision made by the Supreme Court. Washington's Lafayette Park was filled with hundreds of anti-abortion activists to protest the fact that abortion is indeed legal in the United States.
This specific demonstration consisted of a small march and speakers, and Mike Huckabee -- the former governor of Arkansas.
Huckabee remarked, "Whether the baby is in the mother's womb, or whether it's 8 years old or 18 or 80, that life has value, not because I said so, but because God made it to have value."
President Barack Obama took a different stance than Huckabee did. President Obama stated that he remains, "committed to protecting a woman's right to choose and this fundamental constitutional right."
The pro-choice group also held rallies on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. One of these took place in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., outside of the federal courthouse. At this rally, pro-choice leaders and local politicians spoke, such as U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
"It's the specter of the woman getting an abortion on an ironing board in a college dorm room," said Maggie Davidson who organized this event. "Just because abortion is outlawed doesn't mean abortion goes away. We can't go back to that."
People on both sides of the issue met across the country on Jan. 22 to try and make their voices heard. The majority of the rallies and events were small and focused, and peaceful. Abortion and Roe v. Wade are getting a lot more attention this year, as it is an election year and the candidates are making their views known as part of their platform.
The Roe v. Wade decision was handed down on January 22, 1973. This decision has been contested and protested hundreds to thousands of times. In a nutshell, this decision made abortion legal and for the most part, unlimited. Pro-life laws were overturned as a result of this decision, and the rights of unborn children were overturned in most U.S. states. The attempt to overturn this historical decision will likely never end.
