March for women's lives prompts Ashcroft to drop his medical records snoop

[DaveSZ]

From NARAL:


The White House tried as hard as it could to denigrate the March for Women's Lives. Dick Cheney's top advisor, Mary Matalin, said it was "Out of touch and irrelevant." President Bush's closest confidante, Karen Hughes, compared pro-choice Americans to terrorists. When asked by CNN about the March, she responded: "I think that after September 11, the American people are valuing life more and we need policies to value the dignity and worth of every life....Really, the fundamental issue between us and the terror network we fight is that we value every life."


But even George Bush can't ignore it when 1.15 million pro-choice Americans walk past his front yard. Yesterday, he had his Justice Department withdraw its outrageous demand that thousands of women who'd had abortions turn over their private medical records for John Ashcroft's perusal. Everyone who marched, or sent a message to the marchers, or contributed to help make it happen should feel enormously proud. You helped stop Bush and Ashcroft!


Now, it's time to turn the pressure up another notch. They've retreated on one front, but they're still pressing forward with the rest of their anti-choice agenda. That's why we need you to take these two important steps today:


First, sign up to be one of the first of the 250,000 pro-choice precinct captains we need to recruit this year, to work online and in your community to keep spreading the word about how to protect our right to choose; and
Second, make a special donation today to keep the pro-choice momentum alive (or sign up today to give $10 per month). Let's keep them on the retreat!
The March has already brought us one important victory, the withdrawal of the intrusive subpoena for abortion records. If we keep our movement growing and active, we can keep government out of our private decisions for the next generation.


We think Karen Hughes' comments are pretty outrageous. For a touch of humor, see how Jon Stewart summed it up. Click here to hear audio clips at Americablog.

http://americablog.blogspot.com/archives/2004_04_25_americablog_archive.html#108303773790448198

[aquart]

1. What? ANOTHER flip-flop?

Praise the Lord!

[PopSixSquish]

2. Never "Misunderestimate" Us

To quote Robin Williams "That's right John, you scare us more than the dead man"

[FizzFuzz]

3. Yay DaveSZ

Thanks for this post.

Where can I back up that number, 1.15 mil? I have a Christian friend who isn't pro-choice, but she is pro-truth in media. I asked if she would like to sign on a letter I emailed to our local paper that buried the story and under=reported the numbers. She asked for independent source for the million number...other than from the organizers of the march.

I looked at factcheck but maybe I missed it?

[havocmom]

4. Ashcroft was terrified of so many breasts assembled in one place

I dreamed I kicked the whey outta the misogynists in my Maiden-Form Bra!

power to the nipple, err, p-e-o-p-l-e

[DaveSZ]

5. For Fizz Fuzz:

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040425/nysu015_1.html



1,150,000 March on Washington, D.C. to Voice Opposition to Government Attacks on Women's Reproductive Rights and Health
Sunday April 25, 4:43 pm ET
Official Crowd Count Largest Ever for Women's Rights Rally in The Nation's Capitol


WASHINGTON, April 25 /PRNewswire/ -- An estimated 1,150,000 descended on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. today to give an urgent wake-up call to government leaders and the nation-women's lives are at risk and lawmakers stop intruding on a woman's right to access critical reproductive health services and make deeply personal decisions about her health and life.
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The March for Women's Lives was led by seven organizing groups: American Civil Liberties Union, Black Women's Health Imperative, Feminist Majority, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, National Organization for Women and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

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