Local dragon admired at D.C. ‘March for Women's Lives'

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The weather forecast was for rain, and the Drama Dragons were concerned that the paper head of their large pink dragon could be damaged as they marched through the streets of Washington, D.C. on Sunday, April 25. The Drama Dragons, a Warwick-based theater group, participated Sunday in the march, sponsored by National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL), Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, the Feminist Majority, National Organization for Women, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and the Black Women's Health Imperative. The pink dragon, carried by five women, was a center of attention as it proceeded along the march route. It frequently had to stop as photographers gathered around it. Pink parasols, which the Drama Dragons carried to ward off the predicted rain, also served to keep the 35 people who traveled to Washington on the Warwick bus. While the dragon was not tall enough to be seen from a distance, the pink parasols stood out like a beacon. Carrying the dragon were Patricia DeBruhl, Roz Fassett, Suzi Stage, Phyllis Coehlo and Jo Hull, all of Warwick. DeBruhl noted that the dragon was just one of many elements that gave the march a festive atmosphere. Code Pink flourished "pink slips" for President George Bush, accusing him of undermining women's rights. The issue of abortion, central to the march, is not only a matter of the right to choose but a health issue for women, she said. She added that she was encouraged by the presence of the next generation of activist women, teenagers Christa Panzironi and Nicki Moschetto, on the bus.