NEW YORK — At the Democratic National Convention in Boston, members of Democrats for Life and other pro-life advocates protested in the streets because of their party's adamant pro-abortion stance.

Pro-life advocates also turned out in force for the Republican National Convention, but to counter-demonstrate in the midst of tens of thousands of demonstrators who took to the streets against President George W. Bush and his party's policies.

The scores of pro-life demonstrators and hundreds of pro-life advocates also seemed to be sending a message to a Republican Party that gave convention prime-time speaking spots to so-called “moderates” like former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who support legal abortion.

It began with prayer Aug. 27, as clergy and active lay people from across the religious spectrum gathered for a peaceful Friday-night candlelight prayer vigil in front of Madison Square Garden, where the convention would open three days later.

Organizers said they were fortunate to be the last group to have access to the area before it was closed to the public; they obtained a court order from the city to be able to hold the service.

As the pro-lifers arrived, a few bystanders with anti-Bush slogans on their shirts shouted from across the barriers: “It's a woman's right to choose” and “It's their bodies, their choice.” Some of the pro-lifers engaged them briefly before the prayers began.

The vigil was led by Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue; Paul and Rob Schenck, twin brothers who run a Christian outreach to members of the federal government; and Chris Slattery, the Catholic founder and president of Expectant Mother Care, a network of New York crisis pregnancy centers.

The group of about 50 got down on their knees — some on metal street gratings — to pray for peace, the rights of the unborn and safety during a convention threatened with acts of terrorism and civil disobedience.

Scriptural passages were read, and one participant blew a shofar, the ram's horn sounded on Jewish holy days such as Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

Throughout the rest of the week, pro-lifers took up strategic positions at pro-abortion rallies and marches. They stationed themselves on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge Aug. 28 as a sea of marchers headed for a rally at City Hall, picketed against an anarchist march on Madison Square Garden Aug. 29 and held a prayer vigil at Ground Zero that afternoon.

Confrontations

They also let their feelings be known at a few soirees for pro-abortion Republicans.

On Aug. 30, they demonstrated in front of Planned Parenthood's “Stand Up for Choice: Big Tent Republicans for Choice Extravaganza,” a variety show held at the Beacon Theater. While 50 to 60 pro-lifers picketed outside, some attempted to enter the event. Slattery purchased four tickets and was about to go in when he was identified.

“Suddenly I was surrounded by four security guards who said if I didn't leave right away I'd be forcibly removed,” he said.

A similar demonstration the group held in front of a Republicans for Choice black-tie fundraiser at the SkyClub, sponsored by New York Gov. George Pataki and New York City Mayor Michael Bloom-berg, went by with less incident, Slattery said.

There was some back-and-forth between the 50 or so pro-life activists and half a dozen pro-abortion demonstrators, Slattery said, with the pro-abortion group shouting “pro-choice!” and the pro-life side completing the thought by responding, “… kills babies.”

As if to send a message to the Republican Party, several hundred people gathered at Tavern on the Green, a ritzy Central Park bistro, Sept. 1 for what was billed as the “Life of the Party party.” The Republican National Coalition for Life honored several pro-life congressmen, including Catholics Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey.

The events elicited much media attention for the pro-lifers, who had more than 150 interviews with press from all over the world, Slattery said.

Throughout the convention, there were reports of anti-Bush demonstrators showing up at events and delegates' hotels, doing their best to make them feel unwelcome and even spitting on delegates entering Madison Square Garden.

Protesters were arrested for parading naked in front of the building, their bodies marked with slogans. Anti-war activists carried inflatable dolls of Bush in camouflage and with an elongated Pinocchio nose — and accompanying fliers with the slogan “Bush Lies — Who Dies?”

The day before the convention opened, a group called United for Peace and Justice led a march with a crowd that some estimated at 500,000 people.

On the first night of the convention, various activists chanted slogans and crushed against barricades on 34th Street, on Seventh Avenue. Amid the chaos, an anti-Catholic pamphlet called “Earth's Final Warning” was distributed on the street.

Delegates interviewed by the Register reported a few negative encounters. Dr. Allen Unruh of South Dakota, an ardent pro-lifer, said that when he went to Ground Zero with his wife, they were taunted by protestors who were ringing tiny bells continuously to express their opposition to the war in Iraq.

He said he answered them by saying that “the Liberty Bell meant the ability to express your opinion freely.” Throughout the convention, Unruh distributed pamphlets promoting abstinence.

James Bopp, a delegate and a member of the party's platform committee, played a key role in crafting the pro-life plank. He said Aug. 31 that he had experienced just one incident. While waiting in line to enter an event hosted by Gotham's Grand Old Party, someone called him a bigot and asked, “Why do you hate gay people?”

“It was the first time anyone had been anything but courteous,” said Bopp, a pro-life attorney from Indiana. “I said, ‘Sir, you're being childish.’”

Steven McDonnell writes from New York.