D.C. area clinic defenders defeat blockaders in weekend showdown
1990Julia Steinberg 1990-12Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 3 →
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SOCIALIST ACTION DECEMBER 1990 3 ADONTIONS HOI RAION:
Joseph Ryan/Socialist Actior.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Abortion rights supporters won a major victory Nov.16 and 17, when Operation Rescue (OR) was unable to shut down abortion clinics in this area.
The much-heralded "D.C. Project II" only mustered around 700 anti-abortion activists, well below the 1000 to 1500 that OR had announced would participate. The number was also substantially less than last November, when 1500 protesters were successful in shutting down several clinics for extended periods of time.
Clinic defenders, organized by the Washington Area Clinic Defense Task Force (WACDTF) and the National Organization for Women, confronted anti-abortion protesters on both Friday and Saturday.
Over 300 blockaders were arrested on Friday, and the clinic was open by 10 a.m. But by the afternoon, all those arrested had been released, enabling them to participate in Saturday's blockade.
Saturday morning, over 500 pro-choice activists were on the street by 5 a.m. Clinic defenders came from as far away as Florida; Richmond, Va.; Philadelphia; and New York City. A sizeable contingent came from Baltimore, including approximately 50 students from UMBC, John Hopkins University, and Towson State University.
When Operation Rescue attempted to blockade the Capitol Women's Center, they were met by abortion-rights supporters firmly in control of the door. Approximately 250 blockaders were arrested, but clinic services were not substantially disrupted. Patients waited in "safe houses" and were escorted to the clinics.
OR's response to a well-organized pro-choice clinic defense appeared to be one of disorientation. A contingent led by Randall Terry (OR's founder) sat down in front of the Greater Washington Health Center-which Woman GI in Saudi Arabia The National Organization for Women (NOW) has gone on record calling for the immediate withdrawal of American troops from Saudi Arabia.
A resolution passed by the NOW national board of directors on Nov. 18 states that the troop buildup in the Gulf "is designed to protect U.S. oil interests and seeks to deflect the attention of the people of the U.S. from our domestic crisis and the Savings and Loan scandal."
It also points out that lives should not be lost defending the regimes of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which "subjugate and systematically oppress women, denying them basic human rights of self-determination, freedom of speech, association, transportation, and dress, enforcing these restrictions with physical punishment and executions."
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N.O.W. calls for 'U.S. Out Now!'