Reagan stacks court with abortion foes
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On June 11, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a narrow five-to-four vote, threw out a Pennsylvania law limiting abortion. The ruling upheld the 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling that established a woman's legal right to abortion.
Although anti-choice rightwingers were defeated, many of them are crowing over the fact that this was the closest vote yet on the issue of abortion. Not too long ago, the Moral Majority held an open meeting where they prayed for the death of some member of the Supreme Court —so that future voting would be tipped in their favor.
God may not have exactly answered their prayers, but on June 18, Justice Warren E. Burger announced his retirement. Reagan swiftly nominated Justice Rehnquist as chief justice of the Supreme Court. Rehnquist has the court's most conservative record in cases of civil liberties, affirmative action, school prayer, busing, presidential powers, the death penalty, obscenity, and Reagan announced he will nominate another ultra-conserva -tive, Judge Antonin Scalia, to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. One of Scalia's colleagues describes him by saying, "This kid was a conservative when he was 17 years old. An archconservative Catholic. He could have been a member of the [Pope's] Curia."
What rights will the Supreme Court of the capitalist class uphold? None if they can get In a recent survey of abortion clinics and physicians belonging to the National Abortion Feder -ation, it was found that 26 per -cent of the respondents have been "visited" [threatened] by Scheidler and 30 percent had experienced serious violence, including total destruction of facilities-some - away with it. But if abortion is again made illegal, it will trigger mass outrage and precipitate massive protest action.
In the meantime, Reagan has given encouragement to the use of terrorism to close abortion and health clinics for women. Joe Scheidler, director of the Pro-life Action League in Chicago, recently went to the White House at Reagan's invitation to ask for pardon for abortion clinic bombers.
Editor: ALAN BENJAMIN Asst. Editor: MICHAEL SCHREIBER Business Manager: DON MAHONEY Circulation Manager: RALPH FORSYTH Francisco, Calif.
St., No. 308, San Francisco, CA 94110. times more than once.
In the early 1930s, the working class was restricted in its right to organize unions in this country. All laws were made to be used against them. They changed those laws by thumbing their nose at them. They organized the most Closing date: June Millie Ryan, per No.
San powerful waves of strikes and de -monstrations ever seen anywhere.
That's what we have to do today. Women, together with the labor movement and other natural allies, must get back into the streets-independent, strong, and militant.