Contact:  Jerry Horn, Priests for Life, 540-220-0095

ATLANTA, Aug. 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- On this, the 45th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, Priests for Life Pastoral Associate Dr. Alveda King released the following statement:

"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man of God, a man of great compassion, and a man of non-violence, once said, 'The Negro cannot win as long as he is willing to sacrifice the lives of his children for comfort and safety.'  I know in my heart that if Uncle Martin were alive today, he would join with me in the greatest civil rights struggle of this generation – the recognition of the unborn child's basic right to life.

"My uncle Martin would agree that we cannot end poverty, hunger, or suffering by killing those who might suffer.  We cannot claim to guarantee equal rights if we deny the rights of the helpless.  And we cannot feign ignorance of the fact that those who are torn apart, crushed, or left to die on an abortionist's table are just as human as we are.

"My uncle said that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.  There is injustice in our land.  We have turned being unwanted into a crime penalized by death.  Today, I echo the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – let freedom ring.  From every mountain top, let freedom ring for all Americans, wanted and unwanted, born and unborn."

Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.