Eleanor Smeal speaks

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10 SOCIALIST ACTION MAY 1989 The following are major excerpts from the speech to the April 9 rally by former NOW President Eleanor Smeal. Smeal currently heads the Fund for a Feminist Majority.

In 1970, in New York City, the women's rights movement marched 50,000-strong. In 1978, right here in Washington, D.C., for ERA extension, we marched 100,000-strong. In 1986, for reproductive rights, we marched right here in Washington, D.C., 125,000strong. And today, we are marching over 600,000-strong.

I want you to look at this crowd. Turn around and look at this crowd. I want you to look at them as far as you can see. We're over in that direction. We're way over in that direction. We are on the streets. We are still coming off the parking lots at this moment. We are all over Washington, and we are saying, "Mr. President," we are saying to the Supreme Court of America, "We will never go back again. Never. Never go back again!" I want you to feel the strength of this moment. And I want you to make a pledge with all of us together. We are not just going home. We are going home, and we are going to make sure that this country stops the harassment of abortion clinics. We are going to stop Operation Rescue. And we are going home to spread the truth about women's rights and to spread the truth that we are the majority.

If the newspapers and if the police count rob of what we have seen today, we will call those newspapers, we will call those television stations, we will shut down their switchboards because we were here-and we saw America pour out.

We're at a turning point because the majority is going to fight back. Fight back. Don't take "no" for an answer, and do not allow the opposition to spread any more lies. This week I debated some of the leaders of the opposition on television shows. One of them, and you will recognize her name, Phyllis Schaffley, said that we were, in the United States right now with abortion clinics, "killing-women."

She said they go in there for an abortion with knives and pliers. I don't want you to laugh, and I don't want you to take these false statements lightly.... We are not killing babies. We're not killing anyone. We're saving women's lives.

As we stand here today, and as we marched off the Mall, in the space of time that we have been here and will be here, over 1400 women will have died in the Third World because of botched, illegal abortions.

Yes, right now one woman is dying every three minutes because of botched, illegal abortions and because of the American foreignpolicy position that denies U.S. aid to those countries that would perform abortion services or give abortion information-even information. We are denying them freedom of speech on the threat that we will pull out U.S. aid money. Those are our policies As you stand there, there are facilitators trying to sign you up in an official march count. Please sign those sheets. Don't let anyone deny our numbers....

And then do more.... Dip into your pockets and help us pay for the cost of this demonstration. I know you want us not only to organize today, but you want us to organize every day until women's rights are secure. Help us. We intend to keep on building and building and building until we not only guarantee reproductive rights, but we also pass the Equal Rights Amendment. We intend to pass it.

We intend to keep moving forward. Never to go back!

ABORTION

A Woman An Incubator ina eacock/Socialist Action ALAS Brenda Bishop/Socialist Action

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CHICAGO 9 SAFE LEGAL FUNDE ABORTION

Never Again!