Abortion Opponents Form Cross During Demonstration in Ventura

A silent and peaceful protest against abortion was held in Ventura on Sunday afternoon as demonstrators lined curbs on either side of Victoria Avenue and Telephone Road to form a cross symbolizing life.

The demonstration was organized by Life Chain, a Northern California-based group that conducted similar demonstrations in dozens of other cities throughout the nation on Sunday, supporters said.

The lines of demonstrators stretched just under a mile along both thoroughfares.

“We’re forming a cross,” said Father Ed Dober, 48, of San Buenaventura Mission, a Catholic church in downtown Ventura. “We’re for life. The cross is symbolic for giving life.”

One of the local organizers of the event, called “Life Chain Sunday,” Chris Maguire, 42, of Ventura, emphasized the peacefulness of the demonstration.

“No one’s out here to hit anyone over the head,” he said.

There were no incidents during the 90-minute demonstration, Ventura police said. Volunteers from the Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic fraternal service group, provided private security for the event.

Len Newcomb of Ventura, who supervised the group’s security, estimated the crowd at 3,000. Ventura police said several thousand people participated, but gave no exact estimate.

Some demonstrators said the abortion issue is setting the wrong moral tone for America.

“If a parent can kill a child, then the lesson is that killing is all right,” said George Johnson, 76, of Oxnard.

Other demonstrators attempted to be pragmatic.

“If you’re going to make the mistake of getting pregnant, you should deal with it,” said Bridget Olsen, 17, of Ojai.

Some had to ponder for a moment about the thorny issues involved, such as whether they supported abortion in cases of rape or incest.

“You’re making me think,” said Steve Childress, 17, of Simi Valley. Finally, he said he still opposed abortion, and in cases of pregnancy through rape or incest “would put up the baby for adoption.”

And some of those who demonstrated had personal stories to tell.

Alan and Kathy Allison of Canoga Park, members of the American Heritage Christian Church in Somis, pointed to their adopted 7-year-old son, Josh, and said his natural mother had aborted her first child. But then, they said, the mother was influenced by the anti-abortion movement and decided to give birth to Josh.

“Josh might also have been killed before he was born,” said his father.

Shelley Allen of Ventura, holding her 17-month-old infant son, Nathan, said her friend became pregnant after being raped, but decided to give birth anyway.

“She’s happy,” Allen said. “God can work through any situation and bring good out of it.”

Life Chain, founded in the Northern California communities of Yuba City and Marysville in 1987, is a grass-roots anti-abortion group. The organization was designed to offer an alternative to Operation Rescue, a more militant national anti-abortion network.

Sunday’s demonstration was in marked contrast to a rally the previous Sunday of about 600 abortion rights activists at the county Government Center in Ventura.

That event, sponsored by the local National Organization for Women chapter, had the atmosphere of a political rally, replete with local political candidates and abortion rights leaders addressing an often vocal crowd.

Not so Sunday.

About 80 Ventura County churches participated in the demonstration, Maguire said. The religious influence was readily apparent, with clergy sprinkled throughout the crowd.

Also in contrast to the NOW-sponsored demonstration, more families took part, and they brought along their children. And unlike last week’s NOW rally, most of Sunday’s demonstrators said they would vote for Republicans in next month’s elections.

Some of the participants held quiet curbside prayer sessions while several passing motorists blared their horns in approval of the demonstration.

Many demonstrators held either of two signs: “JESUS Forgives & Heals” in rose-colored letters; and “Abortion Kills Children” in blue letters.

The signs were passed out by organizer Maguire for $1 each in the parking lot of nearby Grace Lutheran Church, or were given away if individuals could not afford the donation. The $1 covered the signs’ printing costs, Maguire said.

On the back of the signs were prayers and a Life Chain “Code of Conduct.” It told participants that “any misconduct from passersby should be met with silence and a kind ‘smile’ to express our inner peace and forgiveness.”

A small group of youths held up abortion rights signs on the traffic signal island at Thille Street and Victoria Avenue and yelled to passing motorists. They did not confront the demonstrators.

Participant Carla Bonney, 35, of Ventura, who brought her five children, said, “This isn’t a church movement opposing abortion. People who have a value that abortion is killing children is the kind of movement it is.”

Organizers said the timing of the Life Chain rally was not connected to the upcoming general election. Still, some volunteers walked along the sidewalk with voter registration forms.

A few abortion rights supporters, such as Amy Rich, 18, of Ventura, were scattered throughout the crowd.

“There’s no point in arguing,” Rich said. “You’re not going to change anyone’s mind. The important thing is we’re talking and listening to each other.”