'Choose Life Parade' draws hundreds of participants

Clay Boone, president of Orange County Right to Life, reminded his audience that Warwick was once a bastion of the abolitionist movement in pre-Civil War Days and that he hoped history would once look back on the people in this community with admiration for supporting the right to life movement.
On Saturday, May 11, the Warwick Knights of Columbus Council #4952 sponsored the first "Choose Life Parade."
'A Statement of Peace and Conduct'
Approximately 300 marchers assembled on High Street and then headed down Main Street to Railroad Green where the speakers welcomed and addressed the crowd.
The event was billed as a family-friendly pro-life parade, not a political rally. Noticeably absent were any protestors or elected officials.
All parade participants had been asked to sign a Statement of Peace and Conduct, pledging to conduct themselves in a "Christ-like manner at all times."
They were also encouraged to show their appreciation for the village support and the use of the Railroad Green by visiting local shops and restaurants.
Parade attracted people of many faiths
Marchers included members of Warwick Council #4952 and other nearby Councils, members of Orange County Right to Life and members of churches of all denominations, including Warwick's Church of St. Stephen, the First Martyr, along with members of the Bellvale Bruderhof Community in Chester.
Speakers
At Railroad Green the assembly featured various speakers, including Dr. Elizabeth Rex, co-founder and president of The Children First Foundation, an organization whose mission is to promote and support adoption and safe havens as positive choices for unplanned and unwanted pregnancies and newborns.
One of the speakers was a high school junior who praised and gave thanks to both his biological parents for giving him up in adoption and the loving parents who raised him.
- Roger Gavan