Election, holidays bring women’s health into spotlight

	Pete Demola

	PLATTSBURGH — Women’s health care issues are on the forefront as the holiday season and presidential election converge. A local pro-life initiative, 40 Days for Life, has commenced its annual holiday event in downtown Plattsburgh, designed to raise awareness of pro-life issues. The group, which falls under the broader Pro-Life Action League, held an event outside of Planned Parenthood of the North Country on Brinkerhoff Street last weekend, and another is slated for Saturday. Several pro-lifers gathered around an empty manger to sing carols. The “Empty Manger Caroling” is designed to “bring the joy and hope of Christmas to these places of misery and despair,” said Nancy Belzile, the organization’s regional coordinator. Children have been saved from abortion, Belzile said, when their mothers heard the carols and reconsidered their decision in light of the Christmas story. The empty manger used at the events, she said, is a dual symbol. “Like the empty manger lovingly placed in every Christmas crèche in anticipation of celebrating the Nativity of Jesus Christ, it represents the joy that ought to accompany the birth of every child,” Belzile said. All participants are welcome at this Saturday’s event. Continue reading