A niece of civil-rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke Saturday night in Durango at an anti-abortion group’s annual banquet.
In an interview before the banquet, Alveda King said her and her family’s civil rights message applies to the unborn. She cited a quote by her uncle,: “The Negro cannot win if he is willing to sacrifice the future of his children for personal and immediate comfort and safety.”
King said the quote leads her to ask: “How can the dream survive if we murder the children?”
She added: “A woman has a right to choose what she will do with her body, but the baby is not her body. Where is the lawyer for the baby?”
Alveda King, 65, is the daughter of the Rev. A.D. King, who was the brother Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She has six children and has had two abortions. She says it is never too late to join the fight for life.
“People can have a transformation in the heart, but understanding comes about by understanding how harmful abortion is,” she said. “I had two abortions, but I’m pro-life. ... We welcome everyone if they come early or late.”
King was brought to town by Lifeguard, a Durango nonprofit founded in August 2006 that bills itself as an education resource on adoption, human reproduction and the “effects of abortion on women and children.” Volunteers hold “vigils” every Friday in Durango “for the babies who lose their lives to abortion at Planned Parenthood.”
Martha Sandner, facilitator of Lifeguard, said the group wanted to bring in a speaker who has a positive message and the power to influence. King can do that, not only because of her linage, but also because she is an activist in her own right, Sandner said.
“We are a pro-life organization, and she is a pro-life speaker,” Sandner said. “She speaks for life even though she herself has had abortions.
“She’s a brilliant woman, so we’re happy to just let her speak,” Sandner said.
shane@durangoherald.com
