Abortion Foes March on Supreme Court

Twenty-five years to the day after the Supreme Court legalized abortion, thousands of abortion opponents marched to the court with children in tow. Those on the other side of the issue held giant coat hangers aloft as a symbol of suffering endured when the procedure was illegal.

“Abortion stops a beating heart,” said the slogan stitched into the sweater of a female demonstrator. Other marchers carried banners that read “Emancipate the unborn” or--addressed to President Clinton--”Bill, do you feel the pain?”

Another was addressed to his wife: “Hillary, abortion isn’t child care.”

But with Congress in recess and the capital preoccupied with a beleaguered president trying to cope with new accusations of sexual promiscuity, the annual effort to whip up sentiment caused barely a flutter.

On the grassy Ellipse behind the White House, demonstrators pounded white crosses into the ground as a symbol of the 35 million abortions performed since Jan. 22, 1973, when a divided high court gave abortion constitutional protection.

The skies were gray, the wind chilly as the protesters made their way along Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court, as they have this anniversary week for 25 years. Some were accompanied by pet dogs. Some pushed baby carriages.

In a crowded hotel ballroom, Vice President Al Gore addressed a luncheon of those on the other side, sponsored by the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, the nation’s leading abortion rights advocacy group. He said the president will propose a sharp increase in spending for family services.

“The single way to reduce abortions is to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies,” Gore said. “Let us move toward the day where every pregnancy is a wanted pregnancy.”

A new group, Voters for Choice, announced plans to mobilize as a potent voting bloc the 22 million women who it said have undergone legal abortions--some more than one--since the high court’s Roe vs. Wade decision.