Abortion opponents pray for right to life of unborn

The group gathers on West Sahara each Thursday, seven to 10 strong, some wearing bucket hats, all holding rosary beads. Their homemade signs read:

"Abortion Kills Children."

"Abortion Hurts Women."

Those words are as controversial as the group gets. If you weren't close enough to read them, chances are you might drive by without noticing the group at all.

The decades-long battle between abortion opponents and pro-choice forces is often emotionally charged and sometimes only seen at its extremes.

But the Thursday morning Sahara prayer group - with the five other prayer groups that gather outside of businesses where abortions are performed in the Las Vegas Valley - takes a more peaceful approach.

"I think there is a line," Tom Tassio, a member of the Sahara Avenue prayer group for almost a year, said. "For me and the people here, this is more of a spiritual vocation. We're here to change people's hearts, not to be in their face."

The Sahara group is led by Tim and Tammy Raba, a Las Vegas couple who have participated in prayer groups in Las Vegas for the past eight years. Members include parishioners of the nearby St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Roman Catholic Church on Pueblo Vista. They gather after Thursday morning Mass.

The location of the weekly prayer meeting has shifted, making stops at Planned Parenthood and University Medical Center before settling in outside the Woman to Woman Gynecology clinic on West Sahara Avenue about a year ago. Officials from the gynecology center declined to comment about the prayer group.

But such groups are about "so much more than just abortion," said Annette Magnus, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Southern Nevada. "It's about giving women a right to make a choice that's best for her body."

Those choices include connecting clients with resources for parenting, adoption and abortion. About 97 percent of the work Planned Parenthood does locally is preventative services including contraception, pap smears and breast exams, Magnus said. The agency serves about 38,000 people annually at its three Southern Nevada locations.

Despite the shift in location, the prayer group's approach -- and its anti-abortion message - have stayed the same.

Members stand on the sidewalk by the entrance of the parking lot to the gynecology center, which provides abortions. They don't approach anyone or hand out pamphlets, instead opting to speak with people about alternative options to abortions only when someone approaches. Mostly, they clasp their rosaries and pray.

"It draws public attention to the right to life of the unborn child," Father John McShane said. "It's also a prayer witness that we are praying to God to move the hearts of people to favor the right to life of unborn children."

During previous prayer meetings on Sahara, members have heard "Thank you" and "God bless you."

They've also been told to mind their own business and get jobs.

But Thursday no one seemed especially happy or upset by the group's presence.

Sounds of traffic muffled the softly spoken calls of "Hail Mary" and "Holy Father."

The prayers started to wind down. Six members gathered in a circle for a final one.

Tassio stood nearby, answering a question about the impact he thinks his small group has made.

"I haven't heard someone say, 'You changed my mind and now I have a 2-year-old daughter,' " he said. "That would be cool."