Abortion rights march draws 1.1m in US
AFP, Washington
More than 1.1 million people from across the United States and dozens of other countries took part in what organizers said was the largest ever women's rights protest on abortion, aimed at influencing politicians ahead of the November 2 presidential vote. Older women in their Sunday best mingled with college students in T-shirts in a massive demonstration sparked largely by what they see as President George W. Bush's efforts to chip away at a women's right to an abortion. Organizers put the turnout at 1,150,000, saying the count was done in designated grids on the National Mall, which are designed to hold a predetermined number of people, and verified by 2,500 volunteers at key entry points to the march area. Police did not issue any crowd estimate. Waving signs that read "Fire Bush" and "Keep Abortion Legal," the crowd packed onto the Mall -- the grassy esplanade that links the Congress, the White House, and America's most revered monuments and museums. "All the people are here today not only to march on behalf of women's lives but to take that energy into the election in November," Senator Hillary Clinton told the crowd before the march began. "What we need to try to communicate as clearly as possible to all women and men who are fair-minded in America is that a vote for a pro-choice candidate is a vote for conscience," she said, urging the crowd to vote for the Democratic presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry.
|
Cybill Shepherd (L), Whoopi Goldberg (2L), Christine Lahti (3L) and Kathleen Turner (R) join thousands of women in Washington, DC, marching in support of abortion rights and opposition to the Bush administration's policies on family planning. PHOTO: AFP |
