 |
March for Women's Lives: A New Generation of Pro-Choice Activism
On Sunday, April 25th hundreds of thousands of people are expected to arrive in Washington, DC as part of the March for Women's Lives - the first major pro-choice demonstration in more than a decade. The event is the collaboration of seven national women's rights and civil rights groups: the National Organization for Women (NOW), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Black Women's Health Imperative, the Feminist Majority Foundation, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
The goals for the march include bringing reproductive health issues back to the national stage and engaging a generation of young voters on the issues in advance of what many are calling the most important presidential election for reproductive health in a generation.
Why March Now?
The March for Women's Lives is intended to mobilize supporters of access to legal abortion and other reproductive rights to speak out against what pro-choice activists consider the changing legal landscape and the vulnerability of those rights in the U.S.
After 30 years of legal access to abortion, Americans are still divided on the topic. According to a 2003 national survey of adults in the U.S. by CNN, Time and Harris Interactive, the nation is almost evenly split, with 49% calling themselves "more pro-choice", 45% identifying as "more pro-life", and 6% reporting that they weren't "sure" of their opinion.
The march is a response to increasing conservatism in government, according to Louise Melling, Director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project.
"The political climate has continued to shift. The march is about reproductive rights broadly, about defending our rights to access family planning services, comprehensive sexuality education, as well as to be able to decide to have a child (or) not to have a child without government interference."
Other organizers have indicated that the march was inspired by recent efforts by the Bush administration to undermine reproductive health rights. They point to the President's recent signing of the Unborn Victims of Violence and Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Acts as evidence of an erosion of abortion rights, and are concerned about the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade in the U.S. by the Supreme Court in the years ahead. However abortion isn't the only issue on the agenda. The demonstration will also address access to birth control (including emergency contraception, which is now being considered by the U.S. FDA for sale over the counter and without a prescription), reproductive and pre-natal health care, as well as comprehensive sex education for youth.
On the international stage, the U.S. "global gag rule," which prevents U.S. funding from supporting international health organizations that provide counseling, referrals or access to abortion services, is also part of the debate. According to the organizers, the restriction "prevents women from having access to information that could prevent the 500,000 pregnancy-related, 3 million AIDS-related and 75,000 unsafe abortion-related deaths worldwide each year."
Historic Numbers and Celebrity Voices
The march will be the first major pro-choice event for many young attendees. The last abortion-rights demonstration in Washington was held in April of 1992, when between 500,000 and 750,000 people marched on the National Mall. Melling expects "a tremendous turn out and (hopes) that it sends a message out to the rest of the country that there is tremendous support for reproductive rights." Organizers are expecting similar numbers next week, including some vocal celebrities.
A number of actors, comedians and musicians, including Moby, Pink, Janine Garafalo, Ben Harper, Thom Yorke and Whoopi Goldberg support the event, and many will attend the demonstration. In a press release issued April 12th, Helen Hunt said, "The right to decide when or whether to have a child is a fundamental human right. I am uniting with fellow artists to protest the dangerous policy restrictions and cuts in funding for reproductive health services in the U.S. and around the world."
Young People Lead the Way
In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade declared abortion legal in the United States. Three decades later, a new generation - one which has grown up never knowing a time without legal access to abortion - are joining the struggle to maintain that right.
However, in some ways today's activists face different challenges, according to Melling. "Since 1992 we have seen a real change in the legal landscape. There have been over 300 laws enacted that restrict access to abortion" at the state level. These laws disproportionately affect the poor, people of color, and young women -- especially teens.
In addition to health services, sex ed at school has also changed. "We've seen a shift with our tax dollars that now go for abstinence-only education programs that teach teens about the wisdom of abstaining from sex but stops the message right there, and prohibit telling teens about contraception, except to discuss their failure," says Melling.
With young people at the center of this debate, organizers in Pennsylvania have come up with a new slogan: "Not your mother's march." Already, youth response looks strong. A pre-march meeting in Washington, DC, hosted by Choice USA, will bring together people under 30 from a variety of backgrounds and organizations to network and coordinate. Many young people will be marching and speaking as part of the Young People's Contingent, and will present the Young People's All-Access Pact, a youth reproductive health agenda, to Congress. This statement highlights the intersection of reproductive health with issues like civil rights, social justice, gay rights and self-determination.
Pro-Life Response
Counter-protests from antiabortion advocates on April 25th are expected, though reports indicate they will be small in scope. Randall Terry, founder of Operation Save America/Operation Rescue and president of the Society for Truth and Justice, told the Washington Post that he plans to "line the march route" with up to 1,500 antiabortion advocates - "an ocean of pro-life signs and banners." In an interview with the TriState Citizen USA, he encouraged protesters to travel to Washington with their families and children to meet the "death march" with images of "hope and life." The campaign is being called Operation Witness.
For more information on the March for Women's Lives, click here.
 Back to FFYR News Page
|
|
