Cape Town, South Africa — Thousands of people belonging to the National Alliance for Life on Wednesday protested around South Africa to demand the recognition of the human rights of the unborn.

Since Parliament gave the go-ahead to abortion in 1996, an estimated 150,000 abortions have been carried out in South Africa.

In Durban, one of the protesters, Lindiwe Buthelezi, said: "Standing in the rain shows how serious we are about abortion. Apartheid was also legal - but it was still wrong".

One of the protest organisers, Myrna King said that the beautiful rainbow that appeared at the end of the march symbolised their hope that one day South Africans would be able to really celebrate Human Rights Day - "when the human rights of unborn babies are also protected".

At the same time in Port Elizabeth, members of Christians for Truth marked Human Rights Day, by handing out pamphlets to passing motorists.

"The abortion laws of South Africa remain a constant contradiction of the culture of human rights. All opinion polls show that the vast majority of the public is pro-life," Christians for Truth said in a statement.

Doctors for Life chairman, Dr Albu van Eeden said abortion on demand is the beginning of the downward slide towards other forms of gross violations of human rights.

"A cash-strapped government will realise how cheap it is to extinguish lives instead of caring for patients until natural death. As we celebrate Human Rights Day, let us remember that it is an unfortunate reality that nations find it easier to go down the road of incremental laws against the weak, the unborn and the aged. Each piece of legislation, which does not strengthen the rights of the weakest members of society, will create an atmosphere for further anti-human laws," he said.