NOW RALLY: PROTEST AGAINST PHYSICAL & "POLITICAL VIOLENCE"
April 10, 1995
"Galvanized by a Republican-controlled Congress," tens of
thousands of people gathered near the Capitol in Washington, DC,
on 4/9 to protest violence against women (Wilgoren, WASH. POST,
4/10). The protesters applied the term "violence against women"
not only to rape and domestic abuse, but also to "political
assaults" on welfare, abortion and affirmative action. The Rally
for Women's Lives, was organized by NOW and backed by more than
700 groups, including pro-choice groups, labor unions, civil
rights groups, gay and lesbian organizations, environmentalists,
socialists, victims' rights advocates and welfare recipients.
The U.S. Park Police estimated that 50,000 people attended the
rally, but NOW Pres. Patricia Ireland said the figure was closer
to 200,000 (Cass, AP/PHILA. INQUIRER, 4/10). The "vast majority"
of the protesters were women and most were white, though some
minorities, men and children could be found at the event.
Organizers said the rally was the "first step in influencing the
political agenda for 1996." They said it was a response to the
"increasingly conservative climate and growing violence at
abortion clinics" (WASH. POST, 4/10). It focused "heavily" on
House Speaker Newt Gingrich's conservative agenda. Speakers
voiced "fears" that Congress would curtail abortion rights, cut
welfare spending, dismantle affirmative-action programs and cut
funding for programs to prevent domestic violence. They called
such actions "political violence" against women. Feminist
Majority Fdn. Pres. Eleanor Smeal: "Be it personal terror, it has
just one purpose: control. We are the majority. Our rights will
only be taken away if we allow the terrorists to reign" (AP/
INQUIRER, 4/10). Smeal drew "thunderous applause" when she vowed
that the "Newt Gingrich Congress" would not outlaw abortion "in
our lifetimes" (WASH. POST, 4/10). Rev. Jesse Jackson attended
the rally and "lashed out" at GOPers: "We have the power to send
Gingrich back to private life. He wants term limits. Let's give
him 18 months" (REUTER, 4/10). NBC's Rodgers-Clark: "Their goal
-- to launch a grass-roots campaign to stop all forms of violence
against women, and to show opposition to congressional efforts to
cut spending for social programs. ... Organizers hope their
message will help to set Washington's priorities for the next 100
days" (4/9). The rally featured Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless of
TV's "Cagney and Lacey," as well as several musical acts,
including Toad the Wet Sprocket and Joan Jett. In addition,
Denise Brown, sister of Nicole Brown Simpson, attended the rally
to add a T-shirt to the Nat'l Clothesline Project that represents
the women in America that have been abused or killed due to
domestic violence (AP/INQUIRER, 4/10).
CLINIC VIOLENCE: The rally, in part, was a memorial to the
five people who have been killed in recent years at abortion
clinics (WASH. POST, 4/10). June Barrett, wife of slain clinic
escort James Barrett, said, "I survived that horrible nightmare
and I am here today to say to you, help stop the violence and
defend a woman's right to choose" (AP/INQUIRER, 4/10). Pro-
choice Rep. Charles Schumer (D-NY) noted that most Americans
back the right to abortion and that opponents resorted to the
"most un-American of all things" in using violence to "crush and
trample and subvert the rights of millions and millions of
American women" (REUTER, 4/9). NBC's Rodgers-Clark: "There was
loud condemnation for the anti-abortion movement." Pro-choice
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY): "We won't go back to an era when
women could terminate unwanted pregnancies only by subjecting
themselves to the dangerous and fatal back-alley abortions" (NBC,
4/9).
PRO-LIFERS: Catholic Campaign for America exec. dir. Mary
Ellen Bork: "We stand with the millions of women not represented
by the National Organization for Women who think the greatest
liberation for women is through education, not through a so-
called 'right' to have an abortion. A feminist movement centered
on violence against unborn human life lacks the strong moral base
that leads to true freedom" (release, 4/7). Nat'l Conference of
Catholic Bishops spokesperson Helen Alvare in a WASH. POST op-ed
writes that she gets a "queasy sensation every time one of these
marches 'For Women's Lives' brings swarms of button-wearing women
to downtown Washington" because of NOW's "obsession with keeping
abortion legal. ... Abortion advocacy associates feminists with
trampling on the rights of small, helpless human beings" (4/9).
Concerned Women for America Pres. Beverly LaHaye said that NOW is
"clearly out of touch with most American women. ... NOW's
hysterical rhetoric about 'violence against women' is a facade
for its real agenda of big government and abortion-on-demand"
(Price, WASH. TIMES, 4/9). Operation Rescue dir. Jeff White:
"Patricia Ireland's attack on the Republican's Contract with
America is just one more demonstration that NOW is nothing more
than a pet the Democrats use to bark at an issue" (release, 4/9).
Abortion Industry Defense League exec. dir. Amy McInerny: "As NOW
encourages women to march for abortion, it should tell women what
abortion really is. When will NOW speak candidly to the American
public about the way abortion services are really provided in
this country?" (release, 4/7). NRLC Pres. Wanda Franz: "Women's
lives have become a secondary concern for abortion advocacy
groups who see promotion of abortion as their prime objective.
Real concern for women must include protecting them from legal
abortion, which has killed and injured untold numbers of women"
(release, 4/7).
The Abortion Report
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