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Hundreds of demonstrators form chain to protest abortion
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TAKING A STAND: (Left to right) Pastor Nick Furrie, of Shiloh Gospel Church in Girard, Carolyn Furrie, Savanna Frantz, 12, of Girard, up anti-abortion signs on Elm Road Northeast in Warren during an anti-abortion demonstration Sunday.
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Reverend Frank Glenn of Cortland protests abortion on Elm Road in Warren Sunday, October 5, 2008. Daniel C. Britt.
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L-R Phyllis Manges of Girard, Vickie Shick of Brookfield, Brandon Cagley of Girard, Pastor Nick Furrie of Girard, Carolyn Furrie of Girard, Savanna Frantz of Girard, James Frantz of Girard and Cheryl Metz of McDonald protest abortion on Elm Road in Warren, Sunday October 5, 2008. Daniel C. Britt.
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L-R, Michael Lehman of Youngstown, Samuel Sprague, 10, of Bristol and Cindy Lehman show their message in English and Spanish. Daniel C. Britt.
By Jordan Cohen
The coordinator of the event in Warren estimated a turnout of 450 protesters.
WARREN — They have been congregating in protest against abortion on the first Sunday in October for the last 18 years, and on Sunday afternoon, several hundred people silently demonstrated on Elm Road sidewalks for one hour.
“We see this as a moral issue,” said Jim Earl, 52, North Bloomfield, the coordinator of Trumbull County Life Chain, the organization that sponsored the protest.
“It’s God’s absolute command that life is precious and is to be preserved.”
Participants’ signs contained such messages as “Abortion kills children,” “Jesus heals and forgives” and “Lord, forgive and heal our nation.” Passing motorists occasionally slowed to glance, and a few honked their horns in support.
Earl anticipated a turnout “between 800 and 1,200” but later conceded the crowd was less than half that number as was the number of churches expected to participate. He said, however, he was satisfied.
“We stopped taking head counts a few years ago, but I would guess we had around 450,” Earl said. “It’s really not about the number of people. We just want everyone to stay aware of this issue.”
Earl said Life Chain should not be viewed as political despite the upcoming presidential election in which Republican John McCain has called for overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, while Democrat Barack Obama has argued for women’s right to choose.
Brian Main, pastor of Warren’s Walnut Creek Community Church, echoed Earl’s sentiment.
“It’s not my position to make political statements,” said Main, who was participating in his first Life Chain event. “I just believe all of these people want to help women choose life.”
Life Chain sign carriers stretched intermittently on both sides of the street from Warren’s Elm Road Plaza to Warren G. Harding High School.
“I just think that after all these years of babies being killed, I have to stand up for them,” said one Life Chain participant, Carol McNally of Niles.
“We are making a statement in the quiet and in the stillness,” said Carolyn Furrie of Vienna, whose husband is pastor of Shiloh Full Gospel Church in Girard. “Maybe people will think about this as they drive away.”
Life Chain is a predominantly Christian national organization founded in the 1980s in California. Organizers said the group sponsors more than 900 such chains in the United States and Canada.