Austin American Statesman

Thousands of anti-abortion demonstrators gathered Saturday afternoon at the Capitol for the Texas Rally for Life, where Gov. Greg Abbott and other guests spoke.
Event organizers estimated around 5,000 people attended the rally.

Melissa Duncan, spokeswoman for the Texas Alliance for Life, one of several organizations that came together for the event, said the gathering highlights the 45th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Roe v. Wade case, which legalized abortion in 1973.

“From our leadership and the legislature to our religious leaders to our organizations across the state, we’re all trying to band together to remember that there are lives to defend and we’ll continue to do so and bring gatherings like this together, not only at this event but across the state to remember that Texas is pro-life,” she said.

“It is unconscionable that anyone would defend the grinding and flushing of bodies of unborn babies who are victims of abortions down the drain into a city sewer system as if they were mere medical waste,” Joe Pojman with the Texas Alliance for Life testified Wednesday.