L.A. abortion rights march draws 30,000
1986Carole Seligman 1986-04Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 2 →
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LOS ANGELES-Sunday, March 16, began with a bang-of thunder. Hail, lightning, rain, and even a tornado hit Los Angeles that day. Two-and-three-quarters inches of rain fell. The weather, remarkable for Southern California, was the back drop for a far greater drama. Between 25,000 and 30,000 people, mostly women, marched for the right to safe, legal abortion in the second "March for Women's Lives" called by the National Organization for Women.
Most of the women who defied the storm to make their bodies count in the women's rights battle seemed to be in the age group of those who remember when abortion was illegal in the United States-about 35 and up. But there were also numbers of young women, men, and small children carefully wrapped against the rain. Several braved the march route in wheelchairs.
"Rain or shine, my body is mine" and "Not with rain, not with thunder, women's rights will not go under" were two of the chants improvised on the spot and shouted throughout the mile-plus march.
The demonstration was a sea of white, gold and purple banners and clothing-the official march colors borrowed from the early women's voting rights move -ment—the suffragists. The banners carried the names of diverse regions, schools, and organizations, including a contingent of Alaskans who were cheered by each group they marched by.
The contingent whose spirit seemed least affected by the weather was that of the TWA flight attendants. The strikers were relieved of picket duty by men in the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union local 1-547 from Lawndale, Calif., who took over the picket line so the women could join the rights march.
Alongside the union sisters, Hormel workers carried a banner of solidarity with Local P-9 on strike in Austin, Minn., against the meatpacking company.
A wide banner that said, "In memory of those who died of illegal abortions," was a reminder that unless abortion is legal, women will die as hundreds of thousands have in the past from back-street abortions.
Marchers entered the park chanting "Not