Pastor stops in Birmingham on cross-country trip to fight abortion

WALMART DISTRIBUTION FACILITY LIFE LOCAL LATEBREAKING. WVTM 13 NEWS AT 630 STARTS NOW. WELL, THE TOPIC OF ABORTION IS A HEAVY ONE, ESPECIALLY HERE IN ALABAMA. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US AT 630. I’M SHERI FALK. I’M GUY RAWLINGS. THE ABORTION ISSUE ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE ANYTIME SOON. IF ANYTHING, IT’S ONLY GETTING MORE DIVISIVE. IT’S AN ISSUE THAT CUTS TO THE HEART OF A NORTH CAROLINA PASTOR. NOW HE’S BIKING ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS PART OF HIS LIFE RIDE USA CAMPAIGN ONLY ON WVTM 13, CHIP SCARBOROUGH TALKS TO JAY STEWART AS HIS MISSION TAKES HIM THROUGH CENTRAL ALABAMA. WE WERE THERE AS PASTOR JAY STEWART CYCLED HIS WAY INTO THE BIRMINGHAM METRO AREA ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON, A FULL MONTH AFTER HE BEGAN HIS CROSS COUNTRY JOURNEY. HE SAYS FOR 40 YEARS NOW, HE’S DREAMED OF RIDING HIS BIKE ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND LAST YEAR, ON MAY 17TH, I MET WITH THE FOUNDER OF LOVE LIFE, AN ORGANIZATION THAT STARTED IN CHARLOTTE THAT WE’VE PARTNERED WITH SINCE THE BEGINNING, SEVEN YEARS AGO. AND THEY REALLY TRY TO CREATE A CULTURE OF LOVE AND LIFE TO SEE AN END TO ABORTION AND THE ORPHAN CRISIS. PASTOR STEWART SAYS IT’S A CAUSE HE FELT WAS WORTHY OF CYCLING ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR. SO HE STARTED ALONG THE PACIFIC OCEAN ON MAY 4TH AND HAS BEEN GOING EVER SINCE 2400 MILES DOWN SEVERAL HUNDRED MORE TO GO BEFORE FINISHING IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA. SO FAR, WE’VE RAISED ALMOST 600,000 TOWARDS THE MILLION DOLLAR GOAL, WHILE PASTOR STUART AND OTHERS ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT THEIR MISSION TO END ABORTION, THERE ARE OTHERS WHO VIEW THE FIGHT AGAINST ABORTION DIFFERENTLY. WE HAVE GONE BACK IN TIME 40 YEARS ON HEALTH CARE THAT HAS BEEN READILY AVAILABLE FOR ALL PEOPLE. AND I’M JUST NOT SURE WHAT THE POINT IS. I THINK MOST PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY DECIDED WHERE THEY FALL ON THIS DIVIDE AND AND AND THOSE THAT DON’T JUST HAVE NOT BEEN PUT IN THAT SITUATION YET OF WHAT THEY’RE GOING TO DO WHEN THEY HAVE AN UNEXPECTED AND UNPLANNED PREGNANCY. SO THE QUESTION OF WHETHER ABORTION SHOULD BE LEGAL IS ONE THAT HAS DIVIDED PEOPLE ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY. SO I ASKED BOTH SIDES, IS THERE A COMMON GROUND? THE ARGUMENT IS ABOUT CAN I USE ABORTION AS BIRTH CONTROL? NOW WE LOSE OUR RIGHT WHEN THERE’S ANOTHER HUMAN BEING ON THE INSIDE OF US AND WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR THE RIGHTS NOT ONLY OF THAT BABY, BUT OF THE MANY CHILDREN THAT ARE IN ORPHAN CARE ACROSS OUR NATION. THIS IS REALLY ABOUT THE FOLKS WHO ARE NOT ABLE TO HAVE THOSE RESOURCES AND THAT SUPPORT SYSTEM. AND AND THAT’S REALLY, YOU KNOW, WHY IT’S SUCH A STRUGGLE TO HAVE MIDDLE GROUND, BECAUSE THERE IS NO ACCESS, NO MATTER THE STANCE, AN ISSUE SURE TO REMAIN FRONT AND CENTER FOR SOME TIME TO COME IN BIRMINGHAM, CHIP SCARBOROUGH DEBBIE WVTM, 13, HERE IN ALABAMA, WE HAVE THE HUMAN LIFE PROTECTION ACT. IT WAS PASSED AND SIGNED BY GOVERNOR IVEY IN 2019, THEN HELD UP DUE TO A LEGAL CHALLENGE. IT FINALLY WENT INTO EFFECT WHEN THE SUPREME COURT REPEALED ROE V WADE LAST YEAR. IT MAKES PERFORMING AN ABORTION AT ANY STAGE OF PREGNANCY A FELONY. THEY WILL ONLY BE ALLOWED WHEN THE MOTHER’S LIFE IS AT RISK. THERE IS N