NOW holds hearings on third party idea

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'We must break all ties with the By CAROLE The crisis in American politics has sparked a debate among those who work for social change.

Organizations like the National Organization for Women (NOW) have worked for years within the Democratic Party. But they can no longer ignore the growing sentiment among their own members that the Democratic Party bears equal responsibility with the Republicans for the growing homelessness, education cutbacks, and other social crises—as well as for the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment, affirmative action policies, and abortion rights.

In response, NOW established a Commission on Responsive Democracy at its last national conference. The conference mandated the commission to hold a series of hearings around the country to assess the two-party system and explore whether or not a new party should be established. The commission will propose a resolution for the July national NOW conference.

Commission members include well-known feminists and liberals. Many members have long histories in the Democratic Party. Participants in the May 4 hearing in San Francisco included NOW President Molly Yard, United Farm Workers Union Vice President Delores Huerta, Boston Rainbow Coalition politician Mel King, former California Supreme Court Chief Justice Rose Bird, and others.

For the past two years, the NOW leadership has abandoned organizing a women's rights movement independent of the capitalist government. It turned away from the strategy of mobilizing hundreds of thousands of pro-choice supporters in demonstrations in Washington, D.C., and locally, and focused on pressuring legislators and the courts.

The NOW leadership consistently urged members and supporters to elect Democratic Party "pro-choice" politicians. The May 24 U.S. Supreme Court decision banning federally-funded clinics from mentioning abortion underscores how this strategy has failed.

It appears that NOW, through the Commission, may propose a new party. "Nothing will put more feminists on the ballot quicker-and push the Democrats and Republicans harder," according to Ellie Smeal, leader of the Fund for the Feminist Majority and NOW.

In the meantime, however, the NOW leadership is not going to cut ties with the Dem... Supreme Court (continued from page high rates of infant mortality, teen-age pregnancies, and sexually transmitted disease.

Nina Robbins, director of San Francisco Planned Parenthood, said 40 percent of the women served by Planned Parenthood receive their only healthcare there. "If they can't come to a family-planning clinic for their reproductive healthcare, then they won't get any healthcare.' Directors at some clinics said they would defy the regulations. Others said they would forego federal funding rather than abide by the regulations.

Title X funding is the largest source of federal funds for family planning, providing about $200 million each year. Many clinics receive 50 percent or more of their funding from Title X. These clinics will be forced to set up completely separate facilities and staff for birth-control services and abortion counseling.

Roe v. Wade in danger The ruling leaves little doubt that the court is set to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion for American women. No other interpretation can be given to this far-reaching, unprecedented setback.

The ruling also raises questions for other federally funded programs, including the National Endowment for the Arts, public defenders' programs, and schools. The decision gives free reign to the government to fund ocrats. During the San Francisco hearing, Democratic Party Central Committee member Maria Martinez urged support for a Sacramento Democrat, Patty Mattingly, a candidate for the state legislature.

Molly Yard and Linda Joplin, president of NOW was doing everything possible to elect Mattingly to office.

By contrast, Joni Jacobs, Socialist Action candidate for mayor of San Francisco, proposed the adoption of a policy of no support to any Democrat or Republican. (See her statement on this page.) Her proposal was not well received by the NOW leadership, which indicated privately that it would support Richard Hongisto—a rich, long-time Democrat-for mayor of San Francisco.

Socialist Action's candidate advocated a complete break with the Democratic and Rethe formation of a party that represents all those whose interests are opposed to the capitalist profit system—in other words, a labor party.

Such a party, which would be the feminist party some NOW members are seeking, would also represent the majority in the United States—those who work for a living instead of profiting off the work of others. Such a party, based on the unions, would be active 365 days a year and would actively organize to defend and extend the rights of women, oppressed minorities, and working people.

The Democratic Party gives lip service to being the party for women, people of color, labor, etc., until those interests collide with