Posted 11am April 29

by Adela Maskova
U-WIRE Washington Bureau

The March for Women’s Lives drew more than a million people from all over the nation on April 25 according to organizers who marked it as the largest march in U.S. history. Organizers stressed the importance of voting, hoping to translate the strength in numbers before them into votes in the upcoming election.

“If all we do is march today that will not change the direction this country is heading under this administration,” said Senator Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., one of the guest speakers. The last large abortion rights march on Washington gathered on April 1992, shortly before Bill Clinton, a pro-choice president, was elected.

Sunday’s march began around noon and by 3:30 p.m. the long stream of people was still winding along Pennsylvania Avenue and emptying into the Mall.

Signs like “I’m a woman — watch me vote” and “My body, my choice, my right” floated above the sea of marchers, a crowd that crossed generations.

Laura Lee Kent, 53, from Massachusetts contrasted the event to the 1992 march. “There were a lot more people this time, and a lot more men.”

Kent also said that there was more emphasis on getting out to the voting booths and that the issue of gay-marriage rang new. “I don’t think anybody was even thinking about that then,” Kent said.

The list of speakers was like flipping through the sections of a newspaper, including personalities from the arts, business and politics. Among others, Whoopi Goldberg, Gloria Steinem, Ted Turner, and Madeline K. Albright attended.

Protestors objected to Bush administration policies that they saw as chipping away at the 1973 Roe v. Wade court decision that legalized abortion.

“They’re starting to slowly take away choices when it comes to reproductive rights,” said Sara Connarley, a Clark University student. “I’m afraid this slow process won’t be noticed and we’ll wake up and not have any choices at all.”

“The young people of America have to wake up and go to the elections, because you’re going to loose every right these people have fought for,” said Joy Sica Naylor, who wore a “Florida Voter for Choice” shirt. Naylor identified herself as a former Republican operative and expressed concern for the U.S. Supreme Court of which a number of Justices are close to retirement and could be replaced by anti-abortion appointees.

Many protestors objected the 2001 Mexico City Policy, which they referred to as the Global Gag Rule. The measure restricts USAID funding to NGO’s whose access to abortion services isn’t limited.

Another criticism fell upon the Bush administration’s favor of abstinence education.

“I would expect sex education to be more progressive than it is,” said Jacquelinie Voigt, a student at State University of New York.

“That’s denying sexuality, and that’s denying different sexuality,” Voigt said.

Another point of alarm among the protestors was the 2003 Partial Birth-Abortion Ban Act that outlaws certain abortion procedures.

“The way it’s worded is that it’s very vague for a physician to know what is illegal and not, because it’s not presented in medical terminology,” said Bekah Jones, a medical student at University of California, San Francisco.

A White House statement said, “The president believes we should work to build a culture of life in America and regardless of where one stands on the issue of abortion, we can all work together to reduce the number of abortions through promotion of abstinence education programs, support for parental-notification laws and continued support for banning partial-birth abortion.”

“No one wants abortion, we just think the decision should be made by women,” said Sarah Gillespie, a George Washington University student. “You’re not going to find a single person here who’s going to say, ‘I love abortion.’ The bottom line is, it’s not the government’s choice, certainly not President Bush’s choice.”

The seven organizations that made the march possible by sharing resources were Naral Pro-Choice America, the Feminist Majority, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, National Organization for Women, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, and the Black Women’s Health Imperative.

“President Bush is the best thing that happened to liberalism; [the march] is bringing everyone together,” said Brendan Levy, a University of Washington student.

Chants like “Not the church, not the state, women will control their fate,” sounded through the street.

“Our congress has made the choice to step into what should be decided by a physician and a woman, and I think that’s a pretty dangerous possibility,” said Nicole Stanziale, a Miami University student.