Van Nuys Rally : 150 March to Oppose Outlawing of Abortion

Carrying signs such as “A Fetus Is Not a Baby” and “The Rich Will Always Have a Choice,” more than 150 people at a rally in Van Nuys loudly voiced their conviction that abortion should continue to be legal.

If abortion is outlawed, women who have enough money will still find doctors to perform the operations safely, but poorer women may seek back-alley abortions or try to do it themselves, several speakers said during a Sunday morning rally at the Van Nuys Federal Building.

Rochelle Howe of the American Newspaper Guild said outlawing abortion will make poor women poorer because those who are unwilling to risk the dangers of a back-alley abortion will be forced to bear children they cannot afford to raise.

“Rights should not be based on economic status,” Howe said as demonstrators cheered loudly and applauded.

The rally was peaceful, without arrests or confrontations with anti-abortion protesters. It was a local version of a national march on Washington, which drew hundreds of thousands of people who fear that the U.S. Supreme Court will reverse its 1973 decision legalizing abortion.

Roe vs. Wade

This month, the court will consider the legality of a Missouri statute restricting the use of public money and facilities for abortion, and the Bush Administration has asked the court to use the case to overturn the Roe vs. Wade decision.

“We want to show solidarity with all the people going to Washington,” said Jan Tucker of the San Fernando Valley Chapter of the National Organization for Women. “People who couldn’t go just wanted to do something and show support.”

Tucker said the local rally was also a “celebration of the fact that Los Angeles said ‘no’ to Operation Rescue.”

“Compared to other towns, Operation Rescue in Los Angeles fell flat on its face,” he said. “People who were in clinic defense outnumbered the clinic blockers every time. We showed them that in this town we won’t put up with anyone trying to deny anyone their constitutional rights.”

Many speakers, including Los Angeles Councilman Mike Woo, state senator Herschel Rosenthal and Assemblyman Terry Friedman, denounced the “pro-life movement” as being “anti-life,” saying its followers ignore the suffering of women who are pregnant with unwanted babies and the misery endured by those children once they are born.