The Portland Alliance, June 2004
The March for Women's Lives has been old news for a few
weeks now, but lest you think there's nothing left to glean from that
historic event, I'm here to provide some additional commentary, a few
catchy slogans you may want to use at the next march and other tidbits
of information for continuing to fight the good fight for women's
bodily autonomy.
First off, don't listen to any fools telling you there
weren't at least one million people there, because there were.
Anticipating the inevitable doubters, organizing leaders American Civil
Liberties Union, Black Women's Health Imperative, Feminist Majority,
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the National Organization for
Women (NOW), National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and
NARAL Pro-Choice America (phew!) had a system in place where volunteers
took names of attendees and in return gave them small green “Count me
in” stickers. At first I only saw a few people wearing them and didn't
know what reproductive cause they were protesting/advocating, but after
a while I caught on and got myself stickered. So when the organizers
say there were 1.15 million people there, I'm willing to give them the
benefit of the doubt. FYI, Planned Parenthood of the
Columbia/Willamette estimates around 700 people from Oregon crossed the
continent to attend the march.
>PICTURES!! From the march! (click link to open in new window.)
Abort Bush
Assholecroft
GW's True Legacy
Mass o' people
No Mandatory Pregnancy
Pro Choice Oregon
RAGING GRANNIES!!
All Photos: Phillip Salisbury
In addition to such classic chants as “2, 4, 6, 8,
separation church and state!” were new phrases I hadn't heard before
and some that were just too funny to ignore:
•“Don't count our eggs before they're hatched
•“If Only Barbara had had a Choice”
•“Fundy religions stop a thinking brain”
•“Ban Partial-Brained Presidents”
•“Babies saved but not served”
•“George Bush Supports Abstinence... Lucky Laura”
•"Marchers from North Carolina shouting, “Carolina, pro-vagina!”
Another highlight actually happened the night before
the march in the Adams Morgan neighborhood where the sidewalks and
streets were teeming with young women in an informal display of taking
back the night. This experienced demonstrator and former New Yorker has
never before seen such crowds of women going about their merrymaking
way, and it was pleasing just to amble along the main thoroughfare
soaking in the feminine vibe.
I have found the following to be true, “People cry when
they experience a lack of hope or an abundance of hope,” and in a
Sunday afternoon filled with joyful tears I remember exactly what it
took for me to finally quit holding back and let mine flow freely.
It was when Sarah Weddington stepped up to the
microphone to introduce herself and got no further than her name before
the crowd went totally ape. I was surprised that many people attending
knew by name the woman who successfully argued Roe v. Wade in front of
the Supreme Court at the age of twenty-six, but evidently this crowd
was full of more knowledgeable and dedicated feminists than I assumed.
I've never been happier to be wrong or more hopeful for the capable
hands the future of women's rights rest in.
You may have read reports remarking on the large number
of pro-feminist men who attended, and there were indeed many, but I
feel compelled to say there was a small but noticeable number of men
attending who seemed more intent on pushing their own agendas instead
of remembering this march was being held by women, for women. Under
this umbrella I put every man with a sign not addressing women's rights
and author Richard North Patterson, who broke the jubilant and positive
tone set by previous speakers to bitterly cast hellfire and brimstone
on Ralph Nader, who is neither a woman nor opposed to women's rights.
Thankfully, most male attendees remembered this was a day to promote
women, celebrate women and send a message to those who seek to turn
back the clock on women's progress. My favorite sign held by a
pro-feminist man: “Keep your hands off her body. Jerkass.”
Speaking of jerkasses, did you hear about the bozo from
California arrested for waving around a jar with a fetus in it? The
Washington Post reports he was charged with “illegally exhibiting a
dead body,” a misdemeanor that carries a possible penalty of 90 days in
jail or a $200 fine. I mention it just in case you've not yet come to
understand how much more prolifers respect the sanctity of life than
prochoicers.
Listening to media coverage of the march I heard it
said that an estimated one third of the marchers were under the age of
twenty-five. These new feminist activists defy any simple political
categorizations, which isn't terribly unusual considering this is a
population consisting of many thousands. One question commonly raised
was how to engage today's young women in the ongoing struggle for equal
rights when too many of them feel disenfranchised by a political system
antagonistic to the issues most important to them as young women. With
many young voters of all genders affiliating less than ever before with
the two biggest political parties, the question of how to turn young
women on to politics remains a formidable one. Fortunately, there are
women coming together to address the problem, women like the founders
of WUFPAC, the Women Under Forty Political Action Committee www.wufpac.org .
WUFPAC is the only political action committee that supports women of
all parties under 40 running for state and federal public office, an
effort born from the desire to bring more young, diverse voices to the
political table. Also, unlike most political action committees, all
WUFPAC members vote for which candidates receive contributions from
WUFPAC, a necessary means of quality control. Though I consider myself
fairly well informed on such happenings, WUFPAC has apparently been
helping young women get into office since 1999. But learning of their
existence is new news to me and perhaps new news to you as well.
I hope I've given you a satisfying, vicarious glance at
the historic display of women's power that took place in our nation's
capital April 25th. It was a little tricky arranging the time off work
and finding the money, but it was truly worth all of it just to hear a
bunch of people chanting “Carolina, pro-vagina!”
S.M. Berg is a feminist writer from Portland.
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