by Tracey Read - Staff Writer

“After my abortions, my life was a mess,” said Benda, who is now happily married with two daughters. “You live a system of denial for a period of time. It¹s so painful to realize that not only is my child not here, but that I am responsible for the death of my child. I had a profound sense of shame and guilt. But abortion isn¹t wrong because it hurts us. It’s wrong because it hurts your child.”

Benda is now the director of Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Independence, a volunteer organization that helps women deal with the after-effects of abortion.

She was on hand Sunday at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Mentor to counsel others. The church hosted a pro-life assembly following the annual Lake County Right to Life march, which started in the Great Lakes Mall parking lot.

The march, expected to attract about 250 people, coincided with the upcoming 30th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion on Jan. 22, 1973.

Jim Aylsworth, an economics teacher at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, said he marches nearly every year. This year was particularly meaningful to him since his wife, Jean, passed away in the spring. “My wife was one of the originators of Lake County Right to Life,”vAylsworth said. “She helped organize the first march. I got involved because we believe in life.”

Jacqui Fetsko, president of Lake County Right to Life, said the goal of the program was to remember the victims of abortion with a peaceful demonstration and not to vilify anyone.

“We¹re really trying to promote the help that is available,² said Fetsko, citing alternatives to abortion including adoption, choosing to keep the child and shelters for teen moms. ³We¹re not here to judge. We¹re here to help. The key is to educate people.”

Lauri Rogers, a Leroy Township woman who marched with five of her six children, said more education is indeed needed. Rogers said a Mentor police officer threatened to detain her 15-year-old son, David II, during the walk even though David wasn¹t breaking any law.

“David was carrying a poster with the word `Choice’ and a picture of a disemboweled fetus,” she said. “A police officer called him over and said, `I’m pro-life too, but what you have on your poster is inappropriate and disturbing.’ My son told him he was exercising his First Amendment rights, and the officer said, `The Constitution allows me to detain you. What’s your name and address?’

“A police sergeant then came over and asked what was going on. The sergeant said he was offended by the sign, too. But he allowed my son to proceed.” Mentor police Sgt. Richard Slovenkay said he could not immediately comment on the allegations since the officers involved were unavailable to give their side of the report. Meanwhile, pro-choice activists argue that anti-abortion marches are not going to change anyone¹s mind about the issue.

“There are a lot of rallies going on at this time of year because of the anniversary,” said Kari Elsila of Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland. “We certainly respect the constitutionality of people’s rights to protest, but at the same time we ask that they respect the woman’s right to privacy to choose her own decisions about childbearing.”

Chrisse France, executive director of Preterm, a Cleveland abortion provider, said she hopes the procedure will one day be unnecessary. “If we could achieve all of these things ‹ access to birth control that works, insurance coverage that covers contraception, adequate sex education that goes beyond abstinence, adequate job training for women, adequate childcare services, and services for abused and battered women ‹ then we would no longer need abortions.”

Chris Link, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said the decision about whether or not to terminate a pregnancy is a difficult and a personal one.

“When a woman conceives, she is of course going to eventually deliver a human being,” Link said. “The question of when life begins or when there is a soul is an important question, but not one that should be regulated by the government.”