Siouxland area pro-life advocates will be gathering again this year to mourn the loss of life resulting from abortion in the United States. But for the first time in the four years of the annual gathering, they will get together indoors.
Event coordinator Jake Dagel said this year’s event will be held at Cornerstone World Outreach in Sioux City on Sunday, Jan. 25, beginning at 3 p.m.
“We’re encouraging everyone in Siouxland to attend this year, as we can say with a loud voice that we will not stop advocating for the unborn,” he said. “It should last a little over an hour. Statewide prolife organizations will have information booths there, as well.”
The main speakers for the event will include Sue Thayer, the former center manager of the Planned Parenthood facility in Storm Lake, where she had worked for 18 years until she was fired in December 2008 when webcam abortions were being first introduced in every Planned Parenthood facility in Iowa. She has since become a passionate pro-life speaker, and has been educating Iowans about the tragedy of abortion, specifically webcam abortion.
When a deceased infant was found in the county recycling center in 2002, law enforcement subpoenaed pregnancy records from all local medical providers. Planned Parenthood was the only agency that refused to hand over information, placing Thayer directly in the crossfire of what became a national controversy regarding the privacy of medical records.
Thayer, the founder of Cornerstone For Life Pregnancy Resource Center, led Storm Lake’s first ever 40 Days for Life campaign outside the very clinic she had previously supervised. At the conclusion of the 40-day prayer vigil, the facility closed its doors forever.
Her passion for children has led her to be a foster parent to more than 130 children over the past 26 years. Her own large family includes three adopted children.
Other speakers include:
- Carl Christiansen, founder of Beauty Amidst the Ashes, a 501(c)3 non-profit that advocates for and educates the public about adoption;
- Hannah Stouffer, who was adopted after her mother chose life instead of abortion; and
- Sam Clovis, a former candidate for U.S. Senate and Iowa Treasurer who is a pro-life political activist.
The Siouxland Rally for Life’s guest of honor will be former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, who ran for the Republican Party presidential nomination in 2012. Santorum, who is widely expected to make another presidential run after his second-place run three years ago, will likely be a large draw for many western Iowa conservatives.
“We’re hoping people will organize large groups at their churches,” Dagel said, “o we can have as many people there as possible.”
The event was started by Teen Defenders, and was originally called the Siouxland March for Life. It began as an event where participants witnessed for their pro-life beliefs, and has been held annually in the month of January as a means to mourn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.
Since the Roe v. Wade decision on Jan. 22, 1973, an estimated 57 million abortions have been performed in the U.S. Last year alone, approximately 1.1 million abortions were performed.
“It’s extra important that we send a resounding message with this event,” Dagel said. “We are not going to rest until this issue is resolved.”
The official promotional video for the event may be seen by clicking here. For more information about the Siouxland Rally For Life, visit the official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SiouxlandRallyForLife.
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