NATCHEZ — In a cold, dense fog Ruth Powers stood on the steps of the gazebo atop the bluff and told the gathered audience that abortion is a dark cloud that has settled over our nation.

“It hurts the most vulnerable among us,” she said.

Powers, co-chair of Pro-Life Natchez-Adams County, and approximately 40 other pro-lifers gathered on Tuesday to recognize and denounce the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

In 1973, Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in the United States.

Among the attendees was Sharon Baity.

“I support life from the time of conception,” she said.

But Baity’s mindset is truly that of a changed woman.

Baity said when she was just 18, she had an abortion.

“I have come to realize it was murder,” she said.

Baity said when she decided to have an abortion she acted out of fear and panic.

“I was young and I was scared,” she said. “And the abortion industry prays on the panic of young mothers.”

And according to those at the rally the abortion industry is very successful.

Cliff Temple Baptist Church’s Pastor Russell Wagoner told the audience that each day 4,000 unborn children are lost to abortion.

By comparison Wagoner said on Sept. 11, 2001, approximately 3,500 people were killed, and the national outrage is not even close to equal.

“I see no outcry, I see no weeping, no anger,” he said.

Wagoner also stressed that abortion is not a political issue.

“This is a cry for help for the unborn,” he said.

Community Chapel Church of God’s the Rev. Steve Pearson was also at Tuesday’s vigil.

He told the crowd that those looking for God’s condemnation of abortion need to look no further than the Bible.

Reading several scriptures, Pearson outlined for the audience how much God values children.

“God’s word supports life,” he said. “So should we.”

While speakers at the vigil did encourage the audience to contact their representatives to transmit their disdain for abortion, Powers said a more local approach will likely work.

“We need a grassroots movement,” she said.

Powers said she and her fellow co-chair, Virginia O’Beirne, are studying the feasibility to establish a crisis center for mothers considering abortion.

“It takes all of us working together to fix this,” she said.