LIFE CHAIN RALLY DRAWS LOCAL CROWD

Ten-year-old Mikki Drury of Kelso stood along Interstate 55 Sunday with about 100 other people, holding signs and praying for an end to abortion.

"You're not supposed to kill babies," Drury said. "It's wrong."

The demonstration was part of an annual event by the SEMO Lifesavers. Since 1973, the Lifesavers have participated in either the Life Chain or a demonstration walk on Broadway.

Mikki has been participating in the Life Chain for a few years. Her mother, and Life Chain organizer, Connie Drury, said Mikki was born 12 weeks premature.

A controversial procedure termed partial-birth abortion is performed on a fetus about the same age as Mikki was when she was born, Connie Drury said.

The Life Chain usually draws about 100 people to the Cemetery of Innocents near southbound I-55. Rows of white crosses were placed on the grounds about two years ago, Drury said, and a tall painting of Jesus Christ facing the road was recently added.

The Rev. Allan Saunders, 37, traveled with about 10 members of his congregation at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Chaffee to the demonstration. He said it was important to keep the abortion issue fresh on people's minds.

"People get busy," Saunders said. "It may be in the back of their mind but it's not an immediate concern. It's a basic issue in our country, the protection of life."

Pauline Asmus, 56, of the St. Ambrose congregation, said people need to be educated about abortion. "People tend to forget," she said.

Asmus said she likes the Life Chain because it is both an active and passive form of demonstration. "To stand in silence is what God would want us to do," she said. "We're actually reaching out to strangers along the interstate. Some honk at us, which is reassuring."

Clare Scheidt, 21, a Southeast Missouri State University Student from Virginia, was with five classmates at the Chain representing Collegians For Life. Participating in this event allows her to concentrate entirely on the abortion issue.

"Because I'm holding the sign and I'm with a bunch of people who are praying for the same thing, it keeps me focused on what I came here to do," Scheidt said. "I just want people to see the signs and think about the impact that abortion has on different people."

One of the hardest parts about being in the anti-abortion movement for Scheidt is she never knows what impact she is making. "I will never know if they're pro-choice when they drive by or if they ever change their mind," she said.

"You don't see the immediate results of your actions."