February 8, 2012

 Oklahomans have an opportunity to express their belief in the sanctity of human life to their legislators during the 21st Annual Rose Day this February at the State Capitol.

Registration / Rose Distribution: 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Rally: 11:45 a.m.
Location: House Chambers

 Each year, hundreds gather at the Capitol at the beginning of the new legislative session to promote and support the lives of unborn babies by meeting with their state senators and representatives and presenting them red roses, which represent the sanctity of the unborn. Attendees are encouraged to present roses to their representative, senator, Lieutenant Governor and Governor. Roses will not be provided.

“Invite family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to join you,” said Heidi Wilburn, Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee advisor for the BGCO. “Your voice is important and influential regarding these issues. When Christians do not speak up, legislators believe we are content with the outcome of their decisions. We are overwhelmingly blessed to live in a nation where our voice matters; take part in the political process. We look forward to seeing everyone there.”

Abby Johnson’s life was changed on October 6, 2009. That was the day that she resigned from the largest abortion corporation in the nation…Planned Parenthood.

Abby worked and volunteered for Planned Parenthood for eight years.
For the last year of her employment, Christ had been working on her heart. Although she didn’t understand why, Abby had begun to question her work and the motivations of the company she had dedicated herself to for eight years.

In September 2009, she saw something that forever changed her mind on the issue of abortion. Abby was asked to assist in an ultrasound guided abortion procedure. On the ultrasound screen she saw a 13 week baby in the womb fight for its life…only to lose the battle in the end.

Not knowing where to go, Abby turned to a local pro-life resource group, The Brazos Valley Coalition for Life. She explained the events that she had witnessed and swore that she would begin to advocate for life in the womb, instead of destroying it. Even though she had not intended on being a public figure, God had different plans.

When Planned Parenthood found out about Abby’s change of heart, they were frightened that others would hear her story and then change their minds on abortion. Their defense was to silence her with a temporary gag order and eventually take her to court. They also decided to inform the media of their gag order.

The media were very interested in Abby’s story. A local news affiliate ran the story on the 10pm news…by Monday morning she was receiving calls from Mike Huckabee and Bill O’Reilly. On November 10, 2009, Planned Parenthood faced off with Abby in the courtroom. It was easy for the judge to see that the lawsuit was a sham. After an hour of testimony from Planned Parenthood, the judge dismissed the case on the spot.

On November 11th, Abby appeared on the O’Reilly Factor. Since her departure from Planned Parenthood, Abby has been traveling the country sharing her story and motivating others to continue the pro-life fight. She also works on projects for the national 40 Days for Life team. Abby lives in Texas with her husband and daughter.

Oklahomans have an opportunity to express their belief in the sanctity of human life to their legislators during the 20th Annual Rose Day this February at the State Capitol.

Each year, hundreds gather at the Capitol at the beginning of the new legislative session to promote and support the lives of unborn babies by meeting with their state senators and representatives and presenting them red roses, which represent the sanctity of the unborn. Attendees are encouraged to present roses to Governor, Lieutenant Governor and their state senator and representative. Roses will not be provided.

“Invite family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to join you,” said Heidi Wilburn, Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee advisor for the BGCO. “Your voice is important and influential regarding these issues. When Christians do not speak up, legislators believe we are content with the outcome of their decisions. We are overwhelmingly blessed to live in a nation where our voice matters; take part in the political process!”

Rev. Roy Jaye Marion is the former Pastor of First Baptist Church Yukon.

He is a Bible Teacher for OBU, MTI classes at Capital Assocation.

He will be leading us through the book of Ecclesiastes.

The theme for this years study is: The Pursuit: Chasing Answers to Life's.