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March for Women's Eq Washington, D.C. The mobili Organization for Women (NO Supreme Court decision in F the right to choose an aborti by a case that the Supreme
The march was the large specifically involving wome only by protests against t national organizations African-American women's !
TERESA to prenatal care and education. Certainly they cannot afford the kind of diet needed to sustain a healthy pregnancy, and they are subject to other external factors that affect pregnancy, including environmental pollution, violence, and stress. Targeting these minority women for prosecution not only punishes them (more directly than in their daily lives) for society's failures, but the threat of punishment also scares them away from the public facilities where they receive the minimal health care available to them. Poor women have already had their
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illion march on rights and men demonstrated in the and Women's Lives in n, organized by the National as called to support the 1973 s. Wade, which gives women his right is being threatened t will be hearing this month. er in the US for any issue d was surpassed in strength 5 war in Vietnam. Over 400 d in support, including ps and several labor unions. RTINEZ reproductive choice limited by a previous ruling in 1980 that federal Medicaid (a limited program of state and federal medical care funding for those unable to afford care on their own) could not be used for abortion unless it was in order to save the woman's life. This law has been added to the books mature decision or that the abortion is in her best interests.
These two victories for the anti-choice minority were not very difficult to achieve due to the racist/classist and ageist fabric of US society. Although the women's movement as a whole has struggled against this legislation for quite some time, with the Webster case more white, middle class women and men are noticing the urgent situation that is encroaching on the everyday lives of almost everyone.
The right-wing creeps around places other than the courts. Since the 1973 decision in Roe that ended the violence, destruction and death of self-induced hanger and back-alley abortions, the right has taken to bombings, arson, physical threats and emotional harassment of women and healthcare workers. Christian fundamentalists and "Operation Rescue"
The most recent activity, of the fundamentalist Christian strain, to have captured the attention of the popular media is Operation Rescue. Founded in New York and also active in Boston and Los Angeles (where the leader is a white, male, former car salesman who sees himself as Martin Luther King, Jr.), this group usually assembles early in the morning and tries to block access to and shut down healthcare facilities. The majority sit, stand, and scoot on their rears upon command, praying and singing continuously. A few others stand near the driveway or walk of the facility waiting to scream, yell and throw copies of their graphic, inaccurate renderings of aborted fetuses in the faces of clients trying to gain the medical care that they desire.
After being arrested and jailed on several occasions, these groups have started to drain the resources of the cities that they target. Financial considerations and the bullying techniques (which are not considered legitimate protest) have driven some city governments to successfully sue the leaders of Operation Rescue under a set of laws, the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), originally intended to combat organized crime. 'RIGHT TO LIFE' MOVEMENT AFFLUENT AVE. ANYWHERE US.A..
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The violence of the past 16 years and the ultra-conservatism of the past eight have left a mark on pro-choice activists and sympathizers.
Conviction thinned by caution
The agenda of the right has somewhat successfully made abortion shameful again. Conviction in the movement has been thinned by cautiousness. Some pro-choice people find themselves speaking in apologetic terms about the abortion procedure, and women confident in their choice to abort feel more guilt than in years past. But while thoughts may be affected to some extent, the actions and habits of women in the US come through loud and clear. The US annual abortion rate of 28 per 1000 women of child-bearing age puts it among the highest of the capitalist countries.
Of course the fight won't end this July, regardless of the decision in Webster. There is already another case before the Court that would dictate strict requirements for the licensing of facilities that perform abortions, demanding that they have equipment that is largely unrelated to the conduct of safe abortions. And on the state level, the barrage of cases challenging women's rights will only increase with each successive Supreme Court decision. The struggle for women's control of their reproductive rights must also address, on a greater scale, the forced sterilization of minority women.
The broad coalition behind the March for Women's Lives has demonstrated potential for leading the movement in the upcoming struggle. It is obvious by the number of people who took to the streets on April 9 that women are finally ready, once again, to take the offensive in the fight for their rights.
This fight should not be limited to the court systems. In addition, to continue in the offensive, women must organize alternative healthcare facilities, educational programs, and networks of mutual support. It is necessary to increase the present momentum and take to the streets again and again until all women achieve complete autonomy over reproduction and control over their lives. *
THIRD CLASS MAIL
POOR WOMEN in 37 states.
BACK ALLEY
Teenage women have also had their rights violated. In many states "parental consent" forms are required before an abortion can be performed. This can sometimes be avoided if the woman can convince a judge that she is capable of making a
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