Dr. King has a dream: pro-life group grows

By JEFF GRAHAM

Like her famous uncle Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Alveda C. King has a dream. She dreams of one day having a world free of the horrors of abortion, where the rights of the unborn are protected and the sanctity of life is recognized.

"The Negro cannot win if he sacrifices his own children for his own comfort and safety," she told the crowd of about 700, quoting her uncle. She then asked, "How can the dream survive if we murder our own children?"

Dr. King spoke May 23 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver for the eighth annual Focus on Life Media Campaign Gala Dinner, hosted by the Pro-Life Society of B.C. in co-operation with the Archdiocese of Vancouver and the Christian Advocacy Society. The Pro-Life Society of B.C. is devoted to educating British Columbians about the sanctity and value of every human life, from conception to natural death.

There were brief talks by Archbishop Raymond Roussin, SM, Dr. Will Johnston of Physicians for Life, and Dr. Paul Chamberlain, a professor of ethics at Trinity Western University. The Higgins Family, an up-and-coming local band, provided entertainment.

Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the daughter of slain civil rights activist A.D. King, explained that she saw parallels between abortion and the oppression of black people prior to the 1960s. However, like her father and uncle, she says she is full of hope.

"I have a dream; it’s in my genes," she said. "Every year the pro-life group grows, and when you grow it shows you are winning."

Dr. King herself overcame tremendous personal tragedy, including divorce, two abortions, and the murder of her father, to grow into the woman she is today. She can now boast six children, a doctoral degree from St. Anselm University, and a successful career. She has also served as a professor, a senior fellow of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institute, and in the Georgia State House of Representatives.

The founder of King for America Inc., an organization devoted to assisting people spiritually, personally, mentally, and economically, Dr. King said she knows the horrors of abortion intimately. She explained that after she gave birth to her first child she went to the doctor suspecting a second pregnancy and said the doctor didn’t even give her a choice to keep the child.

"My second born was sent to heaven, and that wasn’t my choice," she said.

Dr. King went on to explain that her third child was born under difficult circumstances as well, and that she willingly had an abortion.

"Two of my first three children were aborted," she said. "Here I was, mother of three with two in heaven. It changed my whole character."

She said after the abortions she had problems with depression and her health, which exacerbated problems in her marriage, which soon ended in divorce.

She was caught in a cycle of death, Dr. King explained, and so when she became pregnant a fourth time, the first thing she considered was an abortion. However, the men in her life stood up for her fourth child and, according to Dr. King, broke the cycle of death.

"No woman is going to abort a baby of mine," said the father of her fourth child. Dr. King said the comments from her grandfather were similar. "He told me, nobody’s going to abort a grandchild of mine."

"It helped me to break the cycle of death and move into the cycle of life."

Dr. King explained the support of her grandfather and the child’s father changed her outlook on life and abortion. She said it is crucial for men today to stand up for life the same way the men in her life did.

"The men have to realize that their choices and decisions are influencing generations," she said.

Now an active pro-life advocate, Dr. King said the road has been difficult, but that she is seeing progress.

"When we first started out on pro-life, it felt so lonely," she said, "but we now know we are not alone, and we are fighting a battle we are definitely winning."

Since her change of heart, Dr. King has been fighting against abortion everywhere, including on university campuses and at various pro-life events.

Even while teaching as a professor Dr. King would often get her class to think about pro-life issues. "When I taught in university, I would ask my class, who is the baby’s lawyer?"

Dr. King said this question would get her in hot water from the dean every time she asked her class, but she would tell him, "You can’t pay me enough to not tell the truth."