In a shift away from the prayers and quiet protests typical of the anti-abortion movement's effort to overturn Roe vs. Wade, lawmakers teamed with abortion moms Tuesday to accuse pro-abortion leaders with using lies and racism to talk women into having the operation.
At a Capitol Hill event hosted Congress' anti-abortion leader, New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith, several women who've had abortions came forward to tell their stories and declare "I will be silent no more."
The event came on the heels of a new ad campaign that suggests that the world might never have met singer Justin Bieber and Jets quarterback Tim Tebow has their mothers listened to the dire warnings about giving birth: Tebow's mom because she was ill, Bieber's because she was just 17.
The ad from American Values, headed by conservative activist Gary Bauer, also set the stage for an anti-abortion movie Bieber's mother is producing. The short movie, Crescendo, goes public late next month.
At the Hill event, several women said that they were victims of abortion and suffered post traumatic stress disorder and other ailments after their operation. Many said that their abortion doctors did not tell them about the effects of the operation.
"I robbed my seven children of a sister," said Irene Beltran of her abortion. The California mother wore a button that read, "I regret my abortion."
Another abortion mom, Linda Shrewsbury, declared that abortion is racist and tied it to the Holocaust effort to rid Germany of Jews. Shrewsbury, an African American, charged that abortion proponents target young black women. "Mission accomplished," she said. "Thirty percent of all abortions in America are on black women and children."
Smith said the goal of highlighting the stories of the women was to build national support for legislation to greatly curb abortion. "We're optimistic," he said.
Tuesday is the 40th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision. On Friday, some 400,000-600,000 anti-abortion protesters are expected to gather for the annual March for Life.
