One Choice Rally (Women's Rights March)

[Robbien]

. . .

All day Saturday, wherever we went, we recognized women in town for the march. There was no mistaking them on the subway and buses, and in the airport where we went to meet even more arrivals from Humboldt. Maybe it was the sensible shoes, the fanny packs with water bottles, the pins on their lapels representing groups from all over the country, the excited-yet-serious look in their eyes. These were no ordinary Washington tourists. They were there for a cause and they were everywhere. Four women sitting behind us on one Metro ride -- clearly four generations, one family -- just nodded and said to us, "See you at the march."

Sunday, march day, the weather had cooled considerably. At 7 a.m. Webb and I took the subway from Arlington, where we were staying, into downtown. When we emerged from underground it looked like a movie set with clusters of protesters, young and old, clad in matching shirts streaming in from all directions. We went to join the California Planned Parenthood delegation, a group that easily filled the large basement conference room of the Renaissance Hotel, for a pre-march rally.

California Assemblywoman Hannah Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, told the group that included many young women and a smattering of men, "There are way too many of us who remember before Roe v. Wade. ... We will not let send us back." House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said those who oppose abortion should logically support family planning, but they often support neither. Barbara Boxer reminded us of all the erosion in access to abortions since Roe v. Wade. Then Maxine Waters, the fire-breathing congresswoman from L.A., rocked the house.

"I called up George last night," she said, holding a pretend phone to her ear. "I told him to go straight to hell. And to take Attorney General John Ashcroft with him. And take Dick Cheney, too. And Colin Powell. And Condoleezza Rice!" (Ashcroft was attempting to subpoena women's private health records to use in the prosecution of late-term abortion providers, a request he has since withdrawn.)

http://www.northcoastjournal.com/050604/cover0506.html

Just out today a really good recount of the Rally with great
pictures. It made the cover!

[harper]

1. Thanks for posting this article

Interesting enough, Newsweek has not made one mention of the march. It's like we've been edited out. And the issue I got Tuesday has a big section on women's health. Just not reproductive health it seems.