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Support of life draws protesters to Schiavo
Many of the people attending local vigils for Terri Schiavo come from distant points, sacrificing jobs, basic comforts and more for a cause.
By LAUREN BAYNE ANDERSON and GRAHAM BRINK
Published March 18, 2005
PINELLAS PARK - They come from California and Minnesota, from small towns and big cities, from colleges and farms.
They sleep on church floors or in the back of rigged-up vans. Some never really leave the road.
They have a message: Life is sacred. They rally against abortion and euthanasia. They are in Pinellas Park praying to keep Terri Schiavo alive.
"I felt like I had to come," said Minnesota resident Clayton Simon, 23, who attended a Thursday evening vigil at the Greater Grace Church on U.S. 19. "It's about more than just one woman. This will have an impact on people across the country."
Like Clayton, many of the 50 people at the vigil were not from Florida. They came to support local groups that want to keep Schiavo alive. Schiavo, who doctors say is in a persistent vegetative state, is scheduled to have her feeding tube removed today.
The supporters came to pray, to fast and to sing. A few danced as a quartet performed a youthful blend of spiritual tunes. Catholics stood beside evangelicals who stood beside Baptists.
"It's great to see you all here tonight," said the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition in Washington, D.C. "Tonight, we are one family."
An evangelical pastor asked Paul Amabile in December to move his family of eight across the country.
In less than a month, Amabile quit a sales job in Kansas City, Mo., and relocated his family to the Washington, D.C., area. That's where they now live, praying and protesting daily.
"Abortion, Terri Schiavo, it's the same issue: life," he said. "It's time to come back to our roots and put God first."
Part of TheCause USA, the Amabiles live with others in the group in a Maryland dorm-like facility. The organization, made up of primarily college-aged kids, was founded by Lou Engle, an evangelical activist pastor.
Amabile said when the family isn't in Washington, they travel around the nation protesting different causes. Next they will go to Alabama.
Daughters Allison, 10, and Hannah, 8, sat Wednesday at the Woodside Hospice with red tape marked LIFE sealing their mouths. They read and practiced math problems.
"We do our school work while we pray," said Allison Amabile. "We're trying to save (Terri Schiavo); if they can kill her, why not kill me?"
The youthful Cause members wear flip-flops, cargo pants and jeans. Their clothing and nonviolent attitudes are reminiscent of the flower children of the 1960s, only they land on the opposite side of the political spectrum.
Instead of protesting war, they want to overturn the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court abortion decision. Instead of roaming the country sitting-in for civil rights, they travel arguing the right to life. The young people like the hippie comparison. They say they consider themselves part of a youth movement, and like flower children, they hand out roses while protesting.
Amabile said his family doesn't mind the traveling and he doesn't mind not working. His friends and former co-workers were supportive of the move, he said.
"People were supportive, a lot gave me money and said, "Here's the first donation,"' he said. "Now we live on support, like missionaries."
Many in the group will stand vigil today outside the hospice where Schiavo lives, praying for her to be kept alive. Whatever the decision, they will eventually move on to the next town where life is on the line.
"I never thought about many of these things in high school," Simon said. "But now I know how important it is and what a difference we can make."
[Last modified March 18, 2005, 01:01:04]
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