About 60 pro-life advocates from across Central Texas gathered outside Baylor University’s Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center to protest pro-abortion Senate candidate James Talarico’s campaign rally, condemning his support for unrestricted abortion and his claim that Scripture endorses it.
Talarico has consistently opposed Texas pro-life laws while framing his stance as consistent with his Christian faith. Pro-life organizers maintain those claims distort Scripture and the historic Christian teaching that human life begins at conception and must be protected.
The rally, held inside the university facility and limited to Baylor students, faculty and staff, drew a packed crowd after Talarico’s campaign announced the event just 10 days earlier. Talarico, a Texas state representative and Presbyterian seminarian, is challenging pro-life Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Nov. 3 election.
Protesters, organized by John Pisciotta of Pro-Life Waco, a former Baylor economics professor, included Baylor students, members of the campus group Bears for Life, and longtime activists.
Republican Party organizations and the Baylor chapter of Students for Life of America helped publicize the demonstration.
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Talarico has drawn sharp criticism from Christian leaders for arguing that the Bible supports killing babies in abortion because it never uses the word “abortion” and for interpreting the Angel Gabriel’s appearance to Mary as an affirmation of “reproductive choice.” He has said Mary’s consent to the Incarnation demonstrates that creation must be done with consent and that no one can be forced to create.
Evangelist Franklin Graham rejected that reading in May, calling Talarico’s assertion that the Bible is silent on abortion “an absolute lie.”
Graham cited Exodus 20:13 — “You shall not murder” — and said, “Abortion is taking a life — it is murder.”
He also pointed to Jeremiah 1:5 and Psalm 139:13, which describe God knowing and forming children in the womb.
Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America accused Talarico of “spiritual gaslighting,” saying the Bible is explicit that God commanded against killing innocent humans and that He knit people together in the womb.
Despite the heat and restricted location, protesters reported strong public support.
One group tallied passing motorists’ hand gestures and recorded 138 positive responses versus 20 negative ones. Travelers honked and waved in support of signs defending unborn children.
Participants stood along the public sidewalk on University Parks Drive after Baylor Police Department officers barred them from the Dutton Avenue sidewalk, which the university owns. Officers also prohibited Baylor students from protesting on that university-owned walkway.
Megan Roos, Texas-Oklahoma regional coordinator for Students for Life of America, criticized the restrictions.
“I was dismayed that Baylor did not allow our university-approved pro-life group to exercise free speech rights on a sidewalk owned by their university,” she said. “We relocated to the public right-of-way along a city-owned street, where our spirited defense of life received an enthusiastic response.”
The demonstration also produced what organizers called a “media multiplier.” Eight Baylor students interviewed participants for class assignments requiring coverage of both sides of the issue. The Baylor Lariat published an article on the protest after receiving a news release from Pro-Life Waco.
Bears for Life President Makenzie Lampshire, a sophomore, described the protest as a natural response to Talarico’s presence on a Christian campus given his pro-abortion stance.
Vice President Payton Carey said the group sought to amplify the voices of the unborn and educate voters.
“God created each and every one of us intentionally; our conception is not an accident,” Carey said. “We think that’s really important for people to be educated in, specifically at Baylor.”
Pisciotta said the turnout, ranging from students to octogenarians, showed the Greater Waco community’s determination to confront Talarico’s positions directly.
