'Abortion Hurts Women' Billboard Erected at San Francisco Bay Bridge

By Jennifer Riley, Christian Post Reporter Friday, January 02, 2009

A pro-life billboard declaring "Abortion Hurts Women" was erected alongside one of the busiest bridges in the country this week ahead of the annual Walk for Life event.

The 20'x60' billboard, sponsored by Walk for Life West Coast, is easily visible daily to more than 100,000 cars traveling on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The advertising board includes the phone number to a post abortion help line staffed by women who have themselves experienced abortion.

"San Francisco is a beautiful city but there is a lot of sadness beneath the surface - until recently we had more abortions than live births, and a high percentage of our population has experienced abortion," said Eva Muntean, co-chair of Walk for Life. "We need to reach those women (and men) who are hurting, and this seemed like the most effective method."

The billboard, which went up on Dec. 31, also serves as an advertisement for the upcoming and fifth annual San Francisco pro-life march on Jan. 24. Last year, the march drew 25,000 people.

Unlike in the past, the pro-life movement has reported a large number of younger participants. Pro-life organizers in San Francisco as well as in Washington, D.C., have seen a larger turnout of younger adults at their annual marches in recent years.

"As all the members of congress are recognizing, we have all of you wonderful young people [with us] today and we welcome the young people who are going to work from their schools," said Nellie J. Gray, president of March for Life, at the 2007 Washington, D.C., event.

Walk for Life West Coast was founded in 2005 and attracted 8,000 people the first year and has grown every subsequent year. Most of the walkers are from the West coast, but participants have come from as far as Florida and New York.