Posted on 04/25/2004 7:21:09 AM PDT by Libloather
Women's Rights Marchers Gather in D.C.
9 minutes ago
By ELIZABETH WOLFE, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Tens of thousands of women began gathering for a women's abortion rights rally Sunday as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton told several hundred of them the issue is about women gaining full equality.
At a pre-rally breakfast, Clinton said the Bush administration is "filled with people" who view the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion ruling by the Supreme Court "the worst abomination of constitutional law."
"This administration is filled with people who disparage sexual harassment laws, who claim the pay gap between women and men is phony ... who consider Roe v. Wade the worst abomination of constitutional law in our history," said Clinton, D-N.Y.
Several hundred women, joined by a scattering of men, attended the breakfast. They were a small part of what rally organizers said would be as many as 750,000 people who planned to gather on the National Mall and march through Washington
By midmorning, tens of thousands of marches had already gathered on the Mall, many carrying brightly colored signs. "It's your choice, not theirs," said one placard.
Counter demonstrators began assembling along a portion of the abortion-rights parade route. One of them, Tabitha Warnica, 36, of Phoenix, said she had two abortions when she was young and regrets it. "We don't have a choice. God is the only one who can decide," said Warnica.
The larger rally, which focused on protecting women's reproductive rights, included men and women from across the country. Joining them were activists from nearly 60 countries including Denmark, Germany and Kenya.
"In our country, it's so important to feel solidarity with the rest of the world on women's rights," said Helena Pinto, president of UMAR, an abortion rights group in Portugal, where legal abortion is limited.
As the list of sponsors, which includes the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, attests, abortion rights in the United States is the rallying point but not the only issue at stake for these protesters. Organizers have sought to broaden the gathering to include birth control, sex education and better health care for women worldwide.
"We believe it's important to be that broad-based and diverse because the threats to reproductive rights are that broad-based and diverse," said Gloria Feldt, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
The "March for Women's Lives" is expected to bring an enormous crowd to the National Mall. The city has issued a permit for 750,000, and police anticipate the gathering will exceed the 500,000 estimated at a similar 1992 march.
Whatever their numbers, their makeup will likely be different than 12 years ago. Some from the international delegations have come to protest U.S. policies they say harm women abroad, particularly in developing countries.
In the park across from the White House on Saturday, dozens carrying flags of different countries gathered to hear speeches about the state of women's reproductive health worldwide, including how the so-called "global gag-rule" has hurt family planning services. Under the rule, which President Bush reinstated when he took office, non-governmental organizations overseas that promote or perform abortions are ineligible for U.S funds.
"Since the global gag rule is affecting family planning worldwide, this is also our cause," said Catherina Hinz of the German Foundation for World Population, based in Hanover.
The rally, said National Organization for Women President Kim Gandy, will "demonstrate that these policies are having an impact on women all over the world."
The daylong event kicks off with a breakfast featuring Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.
Protesters will march through downtown, then gather on the National Mall for an afternoon of speakers and events.
Anti-abortion groups were in action Saturday with protests outside at least three Washington clinics and activists plan to line part of Sunday's march route in a counterprotest that organizers expect to draw about 1,500 people.
Around this particular gang of cannibals this could mean all sorts of things eh?!
That's a pretty strong recommendation if you ask me.
(and it's starting to look like rain here in DC today)
I own an AKC registered Cocker Spaniel and I would be deeply offended if you compared her to a bunch of Femi-nazis< :-)
Tragically, she was rear-ended by Hillary during the demonstration, and blew up
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