Alveda King, niece of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., will be the guest speaker for the Stand Up for Life march and rally Jan. 7 at the South Carolina State House plaza.

The march will begin at the Russell House at 11:30 a.m. and proceed to the capitol, where the rally will follow at noon.

Holly Gatling, executive director of South Carolina Citizens for Life, said the peaceful South Carolina protest of “a wrong U.S. Supreme Court decision” has been held every year since 1974, the year abortion was legalized.

King has stated that blacks make up nearly 13 percent of the U.S. population but represent more than 30 percent of all abortions. “Planned Parenthood (the largest provider of abortions in America) has built a profitable enterprise largely on aborting black babies,” said King. “This is even more troubling when you consider that [Planned Parenthood] receives over half a billion dollars a year from the federal government.”

Planned Parenthood recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, prompting African-American leaders to join the “100 No More” movement. King said, “I am honored to join my voice with those who will be praying, ‘One Hundred No More.’”

Penny Young Nance, president of Concerned Women of America, said, “This movement is dedicated to protecting the human rights of the unborn and offering real tangible support to their moms and dads for choosing life.”

Gatlin noted that King “represents what we do to extend civil rights to unborn children and to restore the inalienable right to life to a class of human beings who are discriminated against because of their tiny size and place of residence [in] their mother’s womb.”

The motto for South Carolina Citizens for Life is “The first civil right is the right to life.” Readers can get more information by contacting South Carolina Citizens for Life at 803-252-5433 or sccl@sclife.org.