Jan. 31--Members of St. Therese Catholic Church in Wilson pose in Washington, D.C. on Friday before the March for Life that afternoon. Photo taken Friday, January 27, 2017. Submitted photo

Members of St. Therese Catholic Church in Wilson pose in Washington, D.C. on Friday before the March for Life that afternoon. Photo taken Friday, January 27, 2017. Submitted photo

Along the route for the March for Life, marchers from Wilson stopped at the Russell Senate Building to speak with aides to Sen. Richard Burr. Pictured are, from left, Allison Dunkle, Susan Bane, Keisha Parker, aide to Senator Burr, and Riley Bane. Photograhed on Friday Photo taken Friday, January 27, 2017. Submitted photo

Along the route for the March for Life, marchers from Wilson stopped at the Russell Senate Building to speak with aides to Sen. Richard Burr. Pictured are, from left, Allison Dunkle, Susan Bane, Keisha Parker, aide to Senator Burr, and Riley Bane. Photograhed on Friday Photo taken Friday, January 27, 2017. Submitted photo

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Members of St. Therese Catholic Church exercised their right to demonstrate on the streets of Washington Friday.

Louise Bellavance, director of religious education at the church, said a total of 55 people made the bus trip for the March for Life event.

Some 35 youth from St. Therese were joined also by marchers from Barton College and St. Catherine Siena Catholic Church in Tarboro.

The group attended Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

"For most of them, it was the first time they went to Washington, D.C. to visit the basilica, so they were pretty impressed," Bellavance said.

For the Wilsonians, the march started at the Navy Memorial and traveled along Constitution Avenue by the Supreme Court and the U.S. Capitol before ending at St. Peter's on Capitol Hill Catholic Church.

Group members brought signs and marched along with several thousand others sympathetic to the cause.

"We want to let people know that there are lot of us that believe of the importance of life at every stage," Bellavance said. "The youth of St. Therese Catholic Church were proud to represent Wilson as witnesses to the sanctity of human life and the protection of the unborn."

Bellavance said the majority of marchers were young people who had a lot of enthusiasm.

"They were just happy and wanting to speak up. Many times they would sing little things to try to convey their message," Bellavance said. "They felt that there was a lot of solidarity and they felt that it was just a really good experience. I appreciated the fact that this was a very peaceful walk with no aggressive people."

Dr. Susan Bane, medical director of the Wilson Pregnancy Center and a professor at Barton College, joined the marchers. It was her second time attending the event.

"What is most impressive, I would say, is that 75 percent of the people at the march were young people in middle school, high school and college," said Bane. "One of their favorite chants is 'We are the pro-life generation,' and it is really encouraging to see that age group understand and be so passionate about the value of life. I think it is so important for all people, but particularly the young people, to try to understand what they believe and why they believe it and then use their right of protest in a peaceful way. The energy up there was fabulous."

Along the way, the group stopped at the Russell Senate Office Building to speak with Keisha Parker, a staff assistant to U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.

Parker is a former student government association president at Barton College.

Bane took the lead in conveying the group's message.

'I told her that we should value life from conception to natural death and that I wanted Senator Burr to know that," Bane said. "I offered my assistance as an obstetrician-gynecologist in terms of why Roe v. Wade should be reversed should he ever want to talk about it, both from the scientific standpoint but also from a constitutional standpoint."

The landmark Roe case legalized abortion in the United States by striking down state laws that restricted it. Abortion rights opponents have sought to overturn the Jan. 22, 1973 Supreme Court decision ever since.

"In the 1970s when that decision was made, the science was very different from what we know now and then, from a constitutional standpoint, an abortion is the only medical procedure that is classified as a constitutional right, so I just offered my thoughts on that and just offered my assistance just as a medical professional," Bane said. "I offered, as he is trying to consider his votes in the future, should they come up, that I would be glad to give him my opinion."

President Donald Trump is expected to announce his pick to fill the Supreme Court seat of Justice Antonin Scalia at 8 p.m. today. According to the Associated Press, the short list of nominees includes Judge William Pryor, from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Pryor once described Roe v. Wade as the "worst abomination in the history of constitutional law."

Others considered for the job include Judge Thomas Hardiman, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and Judge Neil Gorsuch, of the U.S. Court of Appeals in the 10th Circuit.

If confirmed, a new justice could shift the ideological balance on the high court. Anti-abortion advocates hope a conservative-leaning court would reverse the Roe decision.

dwilson@wilsontimes.com -- 265-7818

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SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” (Excellent) of China Taiping Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (CTPIS) (Singapore). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. CTPIS is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Taiping Insurance Holdings Company Limited, which is ultimately majority owned by China Taiping Insurance Group Ltd. (TPG), a China state-owned financial and insurance group.

The ratings reflect CTPIS’ balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). In addition, CTPIS benefits from rating enhancement as a member of the TPG group.

CTPIS’ balance sheet strength is underpinned by risk-adjusted capitalisation, which is expected to remain at the strongest level over the intermediate term, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). Additionally, CTPIS benefits from strong financial flexibility as demonstrated by capital injections provided by the TPG group in recent years to support the development of its life insurance operations. The company’s investment portfolio consists of cash, deposits and fixed-income securities, albeit with some exposure to higher-risk asset classes such as equities. CTPIS has a moderate reinsurance usage to support the underwriting of large limit risks and life insurance products; however, the credit risk is partially mitigated by the company’s utilisation of a well-rated reinsurance panel.

CTPIS’ operating performance is assessed as adequate, with a return-on-equity ratio of 6% in 2025 (2024: 5.8%). The 2025 operating income was mainly supported by profitable non-life business, while the life business showed improvement during the year. Operating performance remained profitable in the first half of 2026. CTPIS’ investment income is comprised mainly of interest and dividend income and continues to support overall profitability.

AM Best assesses CTPIS’ business profile as neutral. The company is a medium-size composite insurer, domiciled in Singapore, with a long-established position within that country’s non-life segment and an increasing position in the life segment. CTPIS maintains a well-diversified underwriting portfolio, with life insurance operations contributing approximately half of gross premiums written in 2025, albeit the portfolio is geographically concentrated in Singapore. The company benefits from its affiliation with the TPG group, which provides it a level of preferential access to insured risks associated with China-based enterprises in the Singapore market.

The rating enhancement reflects both the implicit and explicit support CTPIS receives from the TPG group. While CTPIS’ operations account for a small portion of the group’s consolidated revenue and earnings, it is considered strategically important to the group in terms of accessing the Singapore insurance market and growing its overseas business.

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Source: AM Best