Pro-choice, pro-life supporters gather in downtown Aiken to express views

Dede Biles, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

Jul. 9—Two groups with opposing views of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last month to overturn Roe v. Wade, which ended constitutional protections for abortion, gathered in downtown Aiken on July 8.

More than 80 people showed up for the Aiken for Choice March and Rally, which the Aiken County Democratic Party sponsored and teamed up with Reproductive Rights of Aiken to organize.

The participants chanted, waved signs and walked around a city block before listening to speakers in Teague Park that included Democratic political candidate Judd Larkins.

He is hoping to unseat U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, a Republican, in South Carolina's 2nd congressional district during the Nov. 8 election.

"Folks, listen. This isn't a Left versus Right issue," said Larkins of the pro-choice versus pro-life debate. "This isn't a Republican versus Democrat issue. This is a majority versus a very vocal minority issue. They can tell you it's 50-50, but it's not. The vast majority of Americans stand with us, and that includes the vast majority of Republicans, including Republican women. They are on our side, (which is) pro-choice."

Meanwhile, the members of the other group, which was smaller, stood in a circle nearby and prayed. Its members wore blue T-shirts that had the words "REMEMBER the Unborn" printed on them.

Their spokesperson was Stephanie Lee of the Aiken Chapter of LIFE Runners.

"We support life from natural conception to natural death," she said. "If one person (participating in the Aiken for Choice March and Rally) looks at our shirts and gives abortion a second thought ... that's enough for us. If nobody does, that's OK, because God is hearing our prayers."

The other speakers in addition to Larkins during the Aiken for Choice March and Rally included the Rev. Debra Guthrie, minister of the Aiken Unitarian Universalist Church.

She urged her audience to "keep fighting" for women's reproductive rights.

"To the members of the Supreme Court and Clarence Thomas specifically, take your foot off of our necks," Guthrie said. "And to the legislators of South Carolina who may be tempted to bow to the pressures of religious extremism, we will not be moved. Our bodies, our choice."

Pete LaBerge, precinct organizer for the Aiken County Democratic Party, said the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade created a situation "that demands activism."

He vowed that his local organization would "keep up the activism until the decision is overturned."

"We've had enough," LaBerge continued. "We will not stand by while our rights and our freedom and our safety are under attack by self-serving extremists in Aiken County and South Carolina.

"The rogue Supreme Court has stripped women of almost 50 years of reproductive rights," he concluded. "The Aiken County Democratic Party is committed to taking action to stand against this decision."