Video of Love Life members walking to NC medical clinic offering abortions goes viral

A video showing anti-abortion protesters in Raleigh has gone viral on TikTok.

Deborah Bridger shot a video of members from Love Life, a religious organization that encourages churches and its members to stand outside medical clinics that provide abortions, on Nov. 12 headed toward A Woman’s Choice on Drake Circle.

The video shows dozens of people in blue Love Life shirts crossing Wycliffe Road with a Raleigh Police Department vehicle in the background.

“Here they all go,” Bridger says in the video. “Walking to the clinic to harass patients.”

Love Life had a permit for a walk starting on Wycliffe Road and ending at Drake Circle for up to 500 people, according to a note sent to Raleigh City Council members.

“Due to the size and the presence of counter-protesters, Raleigh Police Department personnel were on scene to block streets if necessary and maintain the safety of all involved, which is standard protocol when large groups are expected at picketing events,” according to the memo. “Officers remained on scene until the groups cleared out.”

Bridger took the video to show people how many protesters show up at clinics that offer abortions. She and others often show up on Saturdays to fill parking lots to make it harder for the Love Life group to walk to the medical center.

“You stand there and you see the numbers and you realize that all of those people are going to stand on a corner in front of a place that offers health care,” she said in an interview with The News & Observer. “Like this doesn’t happen at your GYN. I feel like if people really saw what’s happening they would be incensed and it feels like they are like. (The video) just took off. People were floored that this was actually taking place in their city.”

The video has more than 600,000 views on TikTok and more than 80,000 people have liked the video. It’s also been posted on other social media websites.

Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said police were not escorting the protesters, but were there to make sure “there were no issues.”

All eight of the incoming Raleigh City Council members said they were in favor of buffer zones around medical clinics that provide abortions, and the city is working on a draft ordinance.

Love Life did not respond to a phone call from The News & Observer. On its website it repeatedly says its walks are not protests but time “for prayer and worship.”

“Every year, Love Life partners with thousands of believers from local churches and community leaders to prayer walk outside the darkest places in our cities – the local abortion center,” according to its website.