RICHMOND, Va. -- Pastor Carson Atherley spent his Friday morning with his family protesting outside the Planned Parenthood clinic on North Hamilton Street.
“We believe every single human being is created in the image of God and so I can’t think of a better place to be on a Friday afternoon than here standing for life,” he explained.
They applaud the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe V. Wade, the landmark case which upheld a woman’s right to choose.
“I was thrilled and overjoyed,” Atherley recalled. “We believe, as Christians, not only that life begins at conception, but we actually believe that life beings before conception. The Bible says that before we were in our mother's womb, God knew us.”
In Carytown, some visitors shared feelings of anger, disappointment, and grief.
“It’s extremely upsetting and it’s a very, very scary time to be a female,” said Anna Nease.
Some voiced concerns with the impacts this change could have on young women, in particular.
“I’m getting my master’s degree right now. I don’t want to have a baby right now. If I were to get pregnant and I lived in a southern state where I could not get an abortion that would be absolutely terrifying,” Nease stated.
Andrea Gollegly is visiting the River City from Florida where she works as a social worker. She said she sees firsthand how many children struggle in foster care.
“These children, a lot of them end up for adoption or foster care and nobody does anything,” Gollegly said. “Where’s the care for the children’s lives? Is it only in the womb or is after too?”
Others feared pregnant individuals will still find abortions wherever they can.
“The bad guys are always going to have a gun. They are always going to get one regardless. It’s just like abortions. They’re always going to get abortions. Now you’re just making it unsafe for them to get abortions,” said Jayden Orstead.
Pastor Athereley responded that he knows that is the reality following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“The reality is this is going to drastically affect the amount of abortions that happen in this country,” he said. “That’s the reality whether they’re safe or not. You’re going to see the number of abortions go down significantly.”
Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for in-depth coverage of this important story. Anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
