Students hold candlelight vigil on anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Nearly 35 students and members of the Bloomington community gathered at Dunn Meadow Thursday night to express their feelings of discontent with the 31st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that gave women the right to have an abortion. They stood in a large circle with their eyes closed and their heads bowed as a prayer was said.\n"We must work in the face of abortion so that lives may be saved," said Father Atkins of the St. Paul Catholic Center. \nThe Vigil for Life was hosted by members of the Grand Old Cause, a conservative activism group on campus. The group has been active for over a year. Chase Dowman, president of IU's chapter of the GOC, said he organized the event to give fellow conservatives the opportunity to come together and speak out against abortion. Dowman, a sophomore, said he has been anti-abortion for as long as he can remember.\n"I believe that life begins at conception," Dowman said. "There is still a potential life there. Whatever you call it, it is going to be a baby; it is going to be a mother or a father, and that is a life to me. If you look at it like that, how could you be for abortion?"\nDowman urged the group to contact their congressmen and get them to vote anti-abortion on the issues. He said a change must be made.\n"There have been 40 million lives lost to abortion," Dowman said. "We can not go another 30 years like that. We are better than that as a nation."\nBibiana Pipher, a resident of Bloomington, said she regretted not speaking out against the Roe v. Wade ruling when it occurred in 1973. \n"I felt very guilty that I was not more verbal in objecting to it," Pipher said. She said she has recently joined other Bloomington residents to protest outside of the local Planned Parenthood on Thursday mornings, when most abortions are scheduled. \nStudents involved with Campus for Choice, an abortion rights group at IU, have a different view. \n"I believe that the fact that the Roe v. Wade decision was made 31 years ago should be celebrated," said junior Lindsay Prater, vice president of the Campus for Choice group. "But it's also important to reflect on the difficulties and struggles faced by women before 1973 and to keep in mind that the right to freedom of choice can be taken away just as easily as it was given." \nPrater said the anniversary serves as a reminder of the time before the Supreme Court's decision when many desperate women resorted to dangerous methods, having to use coat hangers or by employing 'back alley abortionists' to terminate their pregnancies. Prater said while she does not agree with the opinions held by anti-abortionists, she respects and appreciates everyone's right to choose and voice their own opinions. \n"I know that both sides of the abortion issue can coexist peacefully," Prater said. "Or at least agree to disagree."\n-- Contact staff writer Lindsay Lyon at lrlyon@indiana.edu.