by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 2, 2008
Jackson, MS (LifeNews.com) -- Ever wanted to know what 50 million pennies looks like? A group of pro-life advocates in Mississippi found out as they collected 50 million of the coins for a unique memorial to mark the deaths of unborn children since Roe v. Wade allowed unlimited abortions in 1973.
The Mississippi Baptist Convention put together this one-of-a-kind visual reminder of the number of babies who have died from abortions.
The group collected pennies from church congregations across the state and erected a large glass house to store all the pennies the size of a backyard storage shed.
Called the Memorial to the Missing, the penny-filled structure contains a plaque that encourages visitors to the Baptist convention's headquarters -- and the legislature across the street -- to respect life.
"We just needed something to memorialize and help people see the magnitude of abortion over the last several decades," Rev. Jimmy Porter, the director of the MBC's Christian Action Commission, told the Jackson Clarion Ledger.
Rev. Clarence Cooper was the president in 2006 when the memorial was first erected and he told the newspaper he thinks it has been "real effective" in making people think.
Convention spokesman William Perkins also told the Ledger that, "There are a number of stories we've heard about grandparents who walk by and saw it and read the plaque and dug in their pockets and put pennies in the memorial for grandchildren who have been aborted."
The memorial structure weighs 300,000 pounds and the pennies add up to $500,000.
The plaque reads:
"Before you is a collection of 50 million pennies! Each penny represents one child who has been aborted since the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade in 1973. A penny like a baby seems to be so small and sometimes of very little worth, but when seen in a collection of 50 million it becomes enormous.
Each coin is a person, but in many cases it also represents the difficult process of decision-making, fear, and loneliness. While some speak of pro-choice, these babies had no choice. While some speak of a mother's right to control her own body, 50 million babies were not given their right to live.
Fifty million missing children represented by these pennies must be cause for us to stop, pray, consider what we are doing as a nation, ask God to forgive us, seek ways to help those who are struggling with the decision, and look to the Lord to restore each of us."
Related web sites:
Christian Action Commission - http://www3.christianaction.com
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