Pro-Lifers come to Capitol Wednesday (February 3) for annual Rose Day

OKLAHOMA CITY – Pro-life activists will gather at the state Capitol building this Wednesday (February 3) for the annual Rose Day activities.

Registration will commence at 9:30 a.m. in the fourth floor Rotunda of the seat of Oklahoma government, located at N.E. 23 and Lincoln Blvd.

The Rose Day program begins at 11:45 a.m. in the chambers of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

The 2016 keynote speaker is Dr. Anthony Jordan, executive director of Oklahoma Baptists, the Sooner State’s largest denomination of Christians.

Past speakers for Rose Day have included state Rep. Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa, author of numerous bills designed to limit abortion or to require informed decisions about the procedure. 

Brian Hobbs, communications director for state Baptists, said, “The Rose Day Pro-Life rally is the largest pro-life annual event in Oklahoma and has made such a difference to protect the unborn in Oklahoma.”

Edmond Pastor Paul Blair, acting as president of Protect Life OK, said he will be there with many of his members, joining other pro-lifers “to thank legislators for taking stands to stop the killing of pre-born babies in the state of Oklahoma, and we will also be asking those who have not yet signed our petition to Protect Life to please join us in our effort to finally win the fight to end abortion in Oklahoma.” 

In other news of interest to abortion foes, the annual March for Life was held in the nation’s Capitol on January 22, drawing thousands despite a record-setting snow storm that crippled transportation on the East Coast for days. Speakers included Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina.

In Tulsa, participants in the state March for Life gathered in front of Holy Family Cathedral. The vent, organized annually by Oklahomans for Life, proceeded ot Centennial Green, where Pastor Sharon Daugherty, a co-founder of Tulsa’s Victory Christian Church, delivered the keynote address. Many of the marchers returned ot Holy Family for the annual Sanctity of Life Mass that evening.

Nationally and in Oklahoma , the issue remains divisive, although a recent survey by the Knights of Columbus found that 61 percent of Americans (including 82 percent of women surveyed) believe abortion should be limited to the first three months of pregnancy.

The same poll found a majority of those surveyed consider the procedure immoral, including one-third of those who describe themselves as pro-choice.