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March For Women's Lives: Up to a Million Descend on DC in
One of the Largest Protests in U.S. History
Howard Dean on Women's Rights, Elections, Iraq and Israel's
Assassination Policy
March For Women's Lives: Up to a Million Descend
on DC in One of the Largest Protests in U.S. History
Up to one million protesters descended on Washington DC
Sunday to show support for reproductive rights and opposition
to Bush administration policies on women's health issues in
what could be the biggest demonstration in U.S. history. We
hear speeches from celebrities and activists addressing the
crowd. A massive throng of protesters crowded the National
Mall in Washington DC on Sunday to show support for reproductive
rights and opposition to Bush administration policies on women's
health issues in what could be the biggest demonstration in
U.S. history.
Organizers for the March for Women's Lives said over 1 million
people descended on the capital to protest what they see as
an erosion of women's rights.
Protesters - many wearing pink- and purple-shirts - covered
the Mall from the base of Capitol Hill a mile back to the
base of the Washington Monument. They raised signs reading
"Fight the Radical Right," "Keep Abortion Legal"
and "U.S. Out Of My Uterus."
Celebrities, from entertainers to politicians to activists,
took to two stages and addressed the crowd. Actors Cybill
Shepherd, Whoopi Goldberg and Ashley Judd attended, as did
singers Ani DiFranco, the Indigo Girls and Moby. Feminist
icons Patricia Ireland and Gloria Steinem were there so was
labor rights activist Dolores Huerta. Former secretary of
state Madeleine Albright and California Sen. Barbara Boxer
also attended.
The abortion issue was the centerpiece of the march against
Bush's policies, including his stance on funding international
family planning. No U.S. funds may be used for any family
planning agency that mentions abortion to patients.
He also signed a ban on what critics call partial-birth abortion,
doctors call late-term abortion, and the first federal law
to endow a fetus with legal rights distinct from the pregnant
woman.
The Bush administration also has not made it possible to
obtain the "morning after" pill, also known as emergency
contraception, without a prescription.
Bush stayed at Camp David in the Maryland mountains until
late afternoon, when he returned to the capital. His spokesman
Taylor Gross said, "The president believes we should
work to build a culture of life in America."
Today we hear the words of some of those who took the stage
Sunday.
- Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers
- Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil
Liberties Union
- Dr. Lorraine Cole, Black Women's Health Imperative
- Silvia Henriquez, National Latina Institute for Reproductive
Health
- Gloria Feldt, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
- Kim Gandy, National Organization for Women
Howard Dean on Women's Rights, Elections, Iraq and
Israel's Assassination Policy
Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, speaks
with Democracy Now! before addressing the crowd at the March
For Women's Lives in Washington DC. He says the U.S. should
hand over control of Iraq to the United Nations, discusses
the presidential election and says he supports Israel's assassination
of Hamas leaders. [includes
rush transcript]
- Howard Dean, former Democratic presidential candidate.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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