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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2004)
Nikki Kahn Knight Ridder Tribune Thousands march down Pennsylvania Avenue on Sunday in Washington D.C. during the "March for Women's Lives," a pro-choice rally, in protest of legislative actions that pro choicers argue could to lead to a reversal of Roe v. Wade. The American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood worked with about 1,400 other organizations to put on the rally. Thousands rally for abortion rights The March for Women’s Lives united activists from around the country Sunday By Kristina Herrndobler Chicago Tribune (KRT) WASHINGTON — Abortion rights activists turned out by the hundreds 'of thousands Sunday, packing the Na tional Mall with a sea of pink signs and a warning to the White House that they will go to the polls in No vember. The American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood, along with about 1,400 other organi zations, organized the March for Women's Lives after a series of leg islative setbacks that they say could lead to a reversal of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that le galized abortion nationwide. Organizers claimed the march was much larger than the 1992 March for Women's Lives, which National Park Police said drew about 500,000 ac tivists to Washington. Although the National Park Police no longer gives official crowd counts, the Associated Press quoted police sources as infor mally estimating the number at 500,000 to 800,000. Representatives from at least 56 countries joined American men and women from across the nation at the march, saying the Bush administra tion's anti-abortion policies affect women everywhere. Speakers including actress Susan Sarandon and former Secretary of State Madeline Albright blamed the White House's policies for the deaths of thousands of women worldwide — caused, they said, from its re-institu tion of a ban on federal funding for family-planning groups that provide information about abortions or per form them abroad. Although the organizers said the march was nonpartisan, thousands wore "Kerry for President" stickers and carried anti-Bush signs. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., urged the crowd to help elect John Kerry president. Recalling the election of her husband, former president Bill Clin ton, she noted that the last time such a march was held, in 1992, "we elect ed a pro-choice president, and this year we must do the same." Activists said the march was not just about abortion but also about access to health care, family planning and justice. Holding a wire hanger in front of the crowd, actress Whoopi Goldberg spoke about what she called a genera tion of women under 30 who don't understand the significance of the hanger — sometimes the tool for ille gal back-alley abortions before the Supreme Court's ruling. "This is what we used," Goldberg said. "But never again will this be the choice of anyone in our hemisphere, in our world. Never again." Francis Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice, said that the overwhelmingly majority of Catholic women in America support a woman's right to chose. "We will not put up with religious leaders who tell women they don't have the right to control their own destiny," Kissling said. "Not the church, not the state — women will control their own fate." Michelle Williams of Wilmette, 111., met up with her mother, Lenore Zake of Palm Beach, Fla., at the march. The women, in homemade "Freedom" shirts, attended an ACLU-sponsored breakfast for Illinois activists Sunday morning. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., received a standing ovation after she Turn to RALLY, page 6A EUGENE HARDWARE • Hardware • Electrical • Plumbing • Paint • Housewares • Lawn & Garden • Tools 342-5191 2825 Willamette Eugene, Oregon BEAN BASKETBALL COURTS Email to register: pitcrew1@gladstone.uoregon.edu OREGOn * $10 deposit required *
