Abortion-Rights Opponents Rally In Washington, D.C.; Republican Presidential Candidates, Bush Address Protesters

Tens of thousands of abortion-rights opponents on Monday rallied in Washington, D.C., as part of the annual March for Life and called for the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which effectively barred state abortion bans, the Washington Post reports. The demonstration marked the 34th anniversary of Roe. According to the Post, youth comprised the majority of the protesters, who came from across the country, wearing matching clothes or carrying posters with slogans, such as "Face It Abortion Kills" (Chandler/Boorstein, Washington Post, 1/23). President Bush via a telephone message from Camp David said, "We believe every human life has value, and we pray for the day when every child is welcome in life and protected into law" (Abruzzese, New York Times, 1/23). He also said, "Our challenge is to make sure that science serves the cause of humanity instead of the other way around. I have made clear to the Congress, we must pursue medical advances in the name of life, not at the expense of it." Bush added, "We've all got to remember that a true culture of life cannot be built by changing laws alone. We've all got to work hard to change hearts" (AP/Forbes, 1/23). In addition, Bush highlighted the progress his administration has made in strengthening the antiabortion movement, including supporting state parental notification laws, funding crisis pregnancy centers and signing into law the Partial-Birth Abortion Act of 2003 (S 3), which bans so-called "partial birth abortion" (Washington Post, 1/23). The U.S. Supreme Court in November 2007 heard arguments in a Department of Justice appeal to uphold the law, and the court is expected to rule on the case by July 2007 (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/9/06). According to the Post, the demonstration on the National Mall paralleled events at state capitals around the country and ended a weekend of events in the district, including a series of workshops and seminars, a youth rally and church service, and a conference at which antiabortion bloggers discussed potential 2008 presidential candidates (Washington Post, 1/23).

Republican Presidential Candidates Address Protesters
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), who are running for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, addressed the abortion-rights opponents at the demonstration. "This is where the heart of my base, and where the heart of the base of the Republican Party lies," Brownback said. According to the McClatchy/Kansas City Star, dozens of "Brownback for President" posters were at the protest (Stearns, McClatchy/Kansas City Star, 1/22). "We recognize a tragedy of life in Roe v. Wade, but that tragedy will not always stand," Brownback said. Hunter said, "If we have a judicial applicant, a judicial nominee who can look at a sonogram of an unborn child and not see the value of human life ... if I should become president of the United States, he will not receive a judicial appointment" (Hananel, AP/San Jose Mercury News, 1/23).

NPR's "Talk of the Nation" on Monday included a discussion on the abortion-rights debate and how advocates from both sides of the issue recently addressed each other in Massachusetts. The program includes comments from Frances Hogan, president of Women Affirming Life, and Nicki Nichols-Gamble, chair of the Center for Reproductive Rights (Conan, "Talk of the Nation," NPR, 1/22). Audio of the segment is available online in RealPlayer.

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