By Emily Drooby
Thousands filled Times Square May 4 to declare that all life is sacred and that New York state’s extreme abortion law permitting the killing of babies even until the moment of birth is immoral.
One supporter, Cindy Fiore, has personally experienced the devastation that comes from having an abortion.
“I did have an abortion as a teenager. It was the worst time in my life,” she told Currents News as she remembered that painful period of her life.
Fiore said that tragically she did not recognize there was a precious infant inside her womb, and admitted that if she could have witnessed a sonogram of her child, it would have made a difference.
“As a teenager, I was told by Planned Parenthood that it’s not a life, it’s a blob of tissue, and ‘tomorrow will be okay.’ And tomorrow was horrible,” Fiore said of her experience.
“So if you see the sonogram and you see that baby moving, you’re going to understand there is a heartbeat,” she continued.
A major part of the event was displaying real-life images, showing a beating heart.
A 4-D ultrasound of Abby Johnson’s third-trimester baby was streamed live on digital billboards set up in the crossroads of the world.
Johnson’s journey from a Planned Parenthood director to pro-life activist was the inspiration for the highly successful movie, ‘Unplanned.’
Also speaking about those powerful life images was the niece of Doctor Martin Luther King, pro-life activist Alveda King.
“We want America and the world to wake up and see life clearly, and when we see life clearly, then we will care about life from the womb to the tomb,” she said.
“And what better way to do that then with ultrasound,” she added.
‘Alive from New York’ is being hailed as the largest pro-life demonstration in the city’s history.
New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan said that after Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the state’s harsh abortion law, the timing was right.
“Especially now and especially in New York, I’m embarrassed to say, we are seeing an unprecedented attack against the human rights of the preborn infant and the most vulnerable in our state,” Dolan told the crowd via video.
New York state ranks as the abortion capital of America, with 239 abortions performed each day.
The plan to show the ultrasound of a baby in Times Square almost didn’t happen.
President of Focus on the Family, Jim Daly, tried to get the images onto existing billboards, but several owners said no.
“It’s another example of where Conservative and/or Christian speech is drowned out, it’s not just on social media, it’s also happening right here in Times Square,” he said. He arranged for mobile billboards to be brought in and used to display the ultrasound.
Ahead of the historic rally, New York Auxiliary Bishop Peter Byrne celebrated a Mass for life at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.
Like so many others, he was horrified at the public celebrations after Cuomo’s approval of the abortion law.
“There was kind of a public defiance of God, the way the Freedom Tower was lit up on January 22,” said Bishop Byrne.
“To to make a public response, peaceful, prayerful, but clear is a great idea,” he added, comparing the day’s pro-life rally to what had been seen earlier this year.
Rally participants applauded the decision to show life in all its beauty through the ultrasounds, and hope they will change other people’s hearts and minds about the sanctity of life.
