South Carolina Baptists will join other evangelicals across the state in January at two events designed to rally Christians to be a “public witness” for the sanctity of human life.

South Carolina Citizens for Life will host a dinner in Columbia on Jan. 9 along with a march and rally the following day, culminating at noon on the State House steps as part of the organization’s “Proudly Pro-Life” awareness campaign.

The events are held to help “make a difference in the lives of pregnant women, unborn children, the elderly and the disabled,” said Mark Hendrick, associate director of the Office of Public Policy of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

Melissa Ohden, who survived her mother’s saline-infusion abortion attempt, will speak at both events. “Although it took me years to grapple with the truth about my life,” she said, “I have come to understand the great blessing that my life, in all of its trials and tribulations … is just as God has written it for me.” Ohden, whose story is told in the documentary “A Voice for Life,” is the founder of the Abortion Survivors Network.

The SCBC’s Hendrick said that while some believers might be tempted to become discouraged “by the state of our culture,” the “good news” is that abortions have declined by 58 percent in South Carolina “because Christians have banded together to do something about the scourge of abortion on our culture.”

“We have provided mercy ministries to women and their unborn children,” he said. “We helped pass 14 pieces of pro-life legislation in South Carolina. Babies, children, teenagers and adults are alive today because Christians have stood proudly for life.”

South Carolina Baptists will join other evangelicals across the state in January at two events designed to rally Christians to be a “public witness” for the sanctity of human life.

South Carolina Citizens for Life will host a dinner in Columbia on Jan. 9 along with a march and rally the following day, culminating at noon on the State House steps as part of the organization’s “Proudly Pro-Life” awareness campaign.

The events are held to help “make a difference in the lives of pregnant women, unborn children, the elderly and the disabled,” said Mark Hendrick, associate director of the Office of Public Policy of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

Melissa Ohden, who survived her mother’s saline-infusion abortion attempt, will speak at both events. “Although it took me years to grapple with the truth about my life,” she said, “I have come to understand the great blessing that my life, in all of its trials and tribulations … is just as God has written it for me.” Ohden, whose story is told in the documentary “A Voice for Life,” is the founder of the Abortion Survivors Network.

The SCBC’s Hendrick said that while some believers might be tempted to become discouraged “by the state of our culture,” the “good news” is that abortions have declined by 58 percent in South Carolina “because Christians have banded together to do something about the scourge of abortion on our culture.”

“We have provided mercy ministries to women and their unborn children,” he said. “We helped pass 14 pieces of pro-life legislation in South Carolina. Babies, children, teenagers and adults are alive today because Christians have stood proudly for life.”