It was a peaceful, successful protest

The pro-life rally I participated in bore little resemblance to the article "Bitter divide over clinic" in Sunday's paper.

Unlike the image portrayed, it was a peaceful demonstration and a beautiful tribute to life. Nearly 1,000 men, women and children walked together peacefully in prayer. What we sang and chanted is called the rosary. The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy was also prayed. "Life Yes! Abortion No!" was the mantra as we walked amongst beautiful photos of babies growing in utero.

It is a complete fallacy to say the protesters didn't represent the community. Personally, I live within a mile of the planned clinic and walked to the rally where I was surrounded by neighbors, parishioners and other community members. In fact, the rally's organizer, Eric Scheidler, is also an Aurora resident. Our strong local showing was also evident by the vast number of drivers along New York Street who sounded friendly honks and gave us a supportive thumbs up. Only people in two cars screamed obscenities at us - interrupting an otherwise peaceful and prayerful experience.

Another interesting point was that the anti-life activists on the other side of the street only numbered about 20 and left after only an hour. It was evident that the community supported life and opposes Planned Parenthood.

As my first rally, I was unsure what to expect. What I experienced was a positive, prayerful and peaceful example of people supporting women and life. After the rally, we gathered for final prayers and a beautiful rendition of "Amazing Grace," first played on the bagpipes, and then sung by all in unison.

Julie Duffin

Aurora