About a thousand abortion opponents kneeled and prayed Saturday on the sidewalk outside Chicago Planned Parenthood, while a dozen other church leaders countered by denouncing the vigil as an act of intimidation.

Amid a protest described by Planned Parenthood as one of the largest ever outside the clinic at Division and LaSalle Streets, women ducked quietly in through the front door. Those leaving looked down and hurried away.

The demonstration came the day before Palm Sunday. It was a timely event, said abortion opponents, who called Planned Parenthood a "place of crucifixion."

"The unjust killing of the unborn is a great and deep suffering," said Julie McCreevy, an organizer for abortion opponents.

Abortion-rights supporters held a news conference nearby to say demonstrations outside the clinic were inappropriate.

Though I missed this prayer vigil, I have been to similar events sponsored by Miss McCreevy’s organization (The Helpers of God’s Precious Infants). There are no signs. No ‘demonstrating.”

"No woman should feel intimidated when going into a clinic to obtain health care," said Rev. Randall Doubet King, chairman of Planned Parenthood in Chicago. Doubet King was among those who held a news conference in a gated area behind the clinic during the protest.

There should be no implied intimidation in prayer. That would be in the hearts of those who know in some sense that what they are doing is wrong. If a thousand people were praying outside the hospital if I were giving birth, receiving a transplant or dispensing with a gangrenous gall bladder, I would not feel intimidated. I would feel heartened and encouraged.

"The majority of religious people are pro-choice," said Dan Coleman, a Church of Christ minister from a Hyde Park congregation. The protesters "give you a sense that they speak for all religious communities," Coleman said. "They don't.

Says who?
And could Jesus sue the Church of Christ for misrepresentation?