Brandeis students assess Walkout'

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BOSTON—"I think we made some activists out there," said Amy Rutkin of Brandeis Voice for Choice (BVC), following the May Ist Student Walkout for Choice that was put together by her organization. According to the BVC, over 2000 participants arrived on the Boston Common throughout the afternoon, some from as far away as Canada.

"Despite the rain, despite the fact that the Green Line [part of Boston's subway system] broke down, and despite the fact that this was one of the hardest times for students, it was a really great day," Rutkin told Socialist Action. "There were students from all over, and a lot of high schools, even some elementary schools. For students to be able to put together such a large-scale event is quite a feat."

But for Rutkin, the real measure of the Walkout's success lies in the future. "As far as we see it, this was the first of many statewide student events. I believe we have laid the foundations for larger actions."

BVC plans to continue building its statewide network of campus activists next fall. They will also work to coordinate their efforts with more off-campus groups, like NOW and the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). "People are continuing to do clinic defense," said Rutkin. And although BVC nasn't yet decided what next year's action will be, Rutkin is sure "it will be a good one.

The Walkout marks the first time in many years that students have organized such a large pro-choice rally on their own. And students at the rally were very receptive to socialist ideas, purchasing a number of individual copies of Socialist Action as well as subscriptions.

But what was missing was a real militant spirit that would have galvanized the potential for independent pro-choice activity on campus. Lacking any real appeal to activism outside the mainstream of electoral politics, the demonstration never quite lived up to its potential. The crowd was subdued and for the most part listened calmly to a string of politicians, including gubernatorial candidates Evelyn Murphy and William Weld. to start its own single-drug company to manufacture and distribute RU 486 if all else fails.

Anti-choice groups are afraid Although they deny it, the company seems to be intimidated by a threatened international boycott by anti-choice organizations of any company which manufactures the drug for U.S. testing. Roussel Uclaf and Hoechst A.G. have been inundated with mail, telegrams, and phone calls demanding that the drug not be licensed in the United States.

Anti-choice organizations are terrified of RU 486's availability, with good reason. The drug has the potential to revolutionize abortion technology by keeping the procedure within the private realm of a woman and her doctor. Because RU 486 is so safe, non-intrusive, and private, many women facing unwanted pregnancies who may not choose a surgical abortion would have another option open to them.

RU 486 also robs the anti-choice movement of one of its most powerful images. Many people feel uncomfortable with posters of aborted fetuses commonly displayed by anti-choice groups like Operation SOCIALIST A of Canadians opposed to it. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney is applying pressure to Conservative members of Parliament, demanding their support. As we go to press, a vote is scheduled on May 29.

Thousands of women took to the streets on May 12 in over 20 cities and towns throughout Quebec and English Canada to voice their opposition to this proposed new law. Sizeable turnouts included 2700 in Toronto, 1500 in Vancouver, and 1000 in Ottawa.

The National Action Committee on the Status of Women adjourned its national conference to participate in the Ottawa demonstration. This meeting passed an emergency resolution calling on all member groups to hold protests on May 25 during the parliamentary debate. A number of doctors have publicly stated their intention to defy any restrictive new abortion law.

Regardless of the outcome of the vote in Parliament, leaders of the Pro-Choice Action Network plan to focus on demanding that the provincial governments provide access to abortion services; i.e., that abortion be fully funded under the provincial health-insurance plans and be available in all parts of the country.

CTION JUNE 1990 3 JUNE