At an anti-abortion rally in Germantown on Monday morning, demonstrators prayed for the end of abortion, and for the lives of unborn babies and expecting mothers.
But most of their prayers were for LeRoy Carhart, the Nebraskan physician who has performed late-term abortions at Germantown Reproductive Health Services since December 2010.
“His heart needs to change,” said Lori Keifer, of Libertytown.
She attended the rally with her husband, Pete, and their six children.
“We’ve been praying for him all morning and the expectant mothers,” Pete Keifer said.But Carhart, the man on the receiving end of their prayers said, “I know I’m doing God’s work, so I don't care what they really think.”
The Maryland Coalition for Life, an anti-abortion group, organized the rally to mark the one-year anniversary since Carhart began practicing in Germantown. Anti-abortion protesters have demonstrated every Monday morning on the corner of Executive Park Terrace and Wisteria Drive, near his office, since Dec. 5, 2010.
From 8 a.m. to just after 10 a.m., demonstrators prayed, sang hymns and held signs that read everything from “Pray to end abortion,” and “Adoption the Loving Option” to “The Butcher of Germantown,” all under the eye of Montgomery County Police officers stationed to maintain the peace.
Posted into the ground by Wisteria Drive were 720 crosses, to match the number of abortions the Maryland Coalition for Life estimates Carhart has performed over the past year.
Inside the clinic, it was another Monday morning, as there were no disruptions to patient care, Carhart said. Two volunteers stood outside to escort patients into the clinic.
Organizers estimated that more than 2,100 attended the rally, more than double what they expected. An independent confirmation was not available. During the rally, they claimed that three pregnant women changed their minds about visiting the clinic after speaking with demonstrators earlier in the morning.
Demonstrator Amanda Spiro, 18, of Gaithersburg, said she may not be alive today had her birth mother’s family forced her birth mother to have an abortion after getting pregnant at 12. Her mother ended up meeting Spiro’s adoptive parents, who agreed to care for Spiro.
“I’m grateful to my mom and the courage she had,” she said. I’m grateful that my mom chose life. It’s a baby. You’re killing a baby.”
nnourmohammadi@gazette.net
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