300,000 in D.C. say 'No!' to attacks on abortion rights

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The crowd was overwhelmingly youthful, with large contingents of college and high school students. Delegations came from over 400 20 SOCIALIST ACTION DECEMBER 1989 ticipated, showing the clear majority support for reproductive rights. Republicans for Choice, religious groups, and businesswomen's professional clubs joined feminist and socialist organizations in sending delegations.

Although 16 national or international unions endorsed the rally, little was done to organize large-scale participation. Scattered signs identified garment workers, machinists, hospital workers, government workers, teachers, and chapters of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW).

CLUW President Joyce Miller began her speech by leading the crowd in a chant of "Pro-union, pro-choice!" She stated, "Reproductive rights in a health issue; it's a civil rights issue; it's a privacy issue; but most of all, it's a family and work issue. Women workers can never gain equality in the workplace without reproductive rights. It's more than a choice of pregnancy. It's a choice of a decent job at decent wages."

"We won't stop until we win"

Many civil rights groups and organizations representing Blacks, Latinos, and other oppressed minorities endorsed the demonstration. However, even though poor and minority women suffer most from denial of Medicaid-funded abortions and are most likely to fall victim to back-alley butchers if access to safe, legal abortions is further restricted, these groups did not attempt to mobilize their memberships.

Pointing to the relationship between the civil rights movement and the women's movement, Southern Christian Leadership Conference President Joseph Lowery stated, "We know what it means to be denied rights." He pointed out that many anti-choice politicians have advocated cutbacks of essential social programs. These politicians "think life begins at conception and ends at birth," Lowery said.

Demonstrations were also held on Nov. 12 in France, Poland, Israel, and Puerto Rico to "How we built Nov. 12 in Boston Area" — page 3.

"What strategy for defense of abortion clinics" — page 3.

"Oppressed minority women:

Victims of abortion in express support for the Washington rally and demand safe, legal, accessible abortions in every country of the world. An international delegation also participated in the Washington march. This was led by over 100 people from English Canada and Quebec—primarily from Toronto, Kingston, and Montreal.

Cherie MacDonald, spokesperson for the Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics, ad. dressed the Washington rally on behalf of the international delegation. She explained: "In Canada, our leaders are determined to lead us backward. They're now debating a law saying a physically and mentally healthy woman can never have an abortion.

"The women of Canada are saying no and joining our sisters around the world who are saying no to all anti-abortion laws. Throughout the world, we are mobilizing for our lives, and we won't stop until we win."

"Pro-choice" candidates

Large turnouts the previous month at proTina Beacock/Socialist Action 38 states.' selves "pro-choice" because of the mobilization of hundreds of thousands in the streets independent of both the Democratic and Republican parties—in defense of women's rights.

Despite the motion passed at this summer's NOW convention to explore the possibility of a third party, the clear message sent from the speakers' platform on Nov. 12 was to work for the election of "pro-choice" Democrats (and in a few cases, Republicans).

The majority of speakers at the rally were elected office-holders or Democratic candidates for 1990. Molly Yard pointed favorably to the politicians in attendance as she told the crowd, "We're dead serious about electing pro-choice candidates—including the women gubernatorial candidates who spoke today."

Referring to the election results in New York City, New Jersey, and Virginia, Eleanor Pro-choice activities were also held in some 150 other cities on Nov. 12. Many of these were deliberately counterposed to the national Mobilization by groups that argued against a national focus, saying the fight has now shifted to the state legislatures. However, where these actions were publicized, they attracted sizeable numbers of people.

In the largest demonstration ever seen in Jefferson City, Mo., 14,000 marched and rallied demanding repeal of the anti-abortion law that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in the July Webster decision. Over 20 organizations joined to build this action, which saw buses from cities, towns, and college campuses throughout Missouri converge on the state capital.

In Chicago, 2000 pro-choice demonstrators rallied outside the Cook County Hospital demanding safe, legal, and accessible abortions. When this hospital stopped providing secondtrimester abortions, it effectively denied access to safe abortions to many poor women in northern Illinois. Other cities with sizeable demonstrations included Los Angeles [see box on this page]; New Orleans; Seattle; San Francisco; Austin, Tex.; and Portland, Ore.

The large numbers who participated in the April 9 March for Women's Equality/ Women's Lives and the Nov. 12 Mobilization for Women's Lives points to the possibility of building a powerful national movement that could assure "we will not go back."

Rather than dissipating our energies in futile state-by-state lobbying efforts and campaigns for candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties—the two parties which have continually denied women their basic human rights—we must maintain a national focus.

Local actions must be part of a national campaign to assure reproductive rights for all American women. As Molly Yard has explained, we cannot limit our support to abortion rights in some states any more than we can limit our support to voting rights in some states.

Efforts must be made to actively involve more trade unionists, oppressed minorities, and students. With this approach, we can mobilize the pro-choice majority to make sure we move forward, not backward.

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More coverage of women's rights

"Attacks on women's rights in Britain & Ireland" — page 4.

restrictions" — page 5. colleges