Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2004)
fHE BATTALION Monday, April 26, 2004 t hrongs of people march in upport of abortion rights By Elizabeth Wolfe THE ASSOCIATED PRESS I WASHINGTON—Abortion- Ights supporters marched in ■nge numbers Sunday, roused in fus election year by what they as an erosion of reproductive leedoms under President Bush lid foreign policies they say hurt lomen worldwide. Political agitation suffused ne gathering of hundreds of ixtsands. Their target: Bush, I e-minded officials in federal nd state government and reli- pous conservatives. Speaking beyond the masses Kf policy-makers, Francis jissling of Catholics for a Free Bioice declared, “You will hear ur pro-choice voices ringing in 1 bur ears until such time that nu permit all women to make J |r own reproductive choices.” I Women joined the protest 1 pm across the nation and from I parly 60 countries, asserting i it damage from Bush’s poli- |es is spreading far beyond .S. shores through measures Ich as the ban on federal Boney for family-planning Joups that promote or perform ortions abroad. The rally on the National 11 stretched from the base of (e U.S. Capitol about a mile ^ck to the Washington lonument. Authorities no longer give formal crowd esti mates, but various police sources informally estimated the throng at between 500,000 and 800,000 strong. That would exceed the esti mated 500,000 who protested for abortion rights in 1992. Carole Mehlman, 68, came from Tampa, Fla., to support a cause that has motivated her to march for 30 years, as long as abortion has been legal. “1 just had to be here to fight for the next generation and the generation after that,” she said. “We cannot let them take over our bodies, our health care, our lives.” Advocates said abortion rights are being weakened at the margins through federal and state restrictions and will be at risk of reversal at the core if Bush gets a second term. “Know your power and use it,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, House Democratic leader, exhorted the masses. “It is your choice, not the politicians.”’ And feminist Gloria Steinem accused Bush of squandering international good will and tak ing positions so socially conser vative that he seems — accord ing to Steinem — to be in league with the likes of Muslim extremists or the Vatican. Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, referring to the 1973 Supreme Court decision NEWS IN BRIEF legalizing abortion, said the administration is “filled with people who ... consider Roe v. Wade the worst abomination of constitutional law in our history.” Organizers set up voter regis tration tables; supporters of John Kerry, the Democratic presiden tial candidate, handed out stick ers. The event was not overtly partisan but denunciations of Bush set the tone from the stage and the ground. The throngs gathered by the Washington Monument for open ing speeches and set off along Pennsylvania Avenue, looping back to the Mall near the Capitol. They moved slowly, bottle necked by their own numbers. A much smaller contingent of abortion opponents assem bled along a portion of the route to protest what they called a “death march.” Among them were women who had had abor tions and regretted it; they dressed in black. Tabitha Warnica, 36, of Phoenix, said she had two abor tions when she was young. “We don’t have a choice. God is the only one who can decide,” she said. Police used barricades and a heavy presence at that site to keep it from becoming a flash point. Both sides yelled at each other as the vanguard of the march reached the counter demonstration. /orld finance officials pledge lore support for global poverty IWASHINGTON (AP) — World finance ministers iromised on Sunday to do more to deal with the rushing burden of global poverty, promising help in Ich areas as education, debt relief and AIDS. jBut activists said the weekend meetings of the 184- nfition International Monetary Fund and World Bank filled to back up the warm words with cold cash. Separately, the United States said it had made progress pushing a new initiative to bolster peace prospects in the Middle East by promoting economic development and jobs. Treasury Secretary John Snow told reporters Sunday that he had been encouraged by the sup port the United States received on the issue both from potential donor countries and from officials from the region. Many countries are seeking ways to provide aid. Listen to the Voice in Your Head That little voice nagging you to "do something" with your life? RICHLAND COLLEGE has classes to fit your busy schedule - days, nights and online. • Courses transfer to all Texas public colleges & universities • Affordable - 12. hours at Richland costs about $360 • Campus conveniently located in North Dallas Registering NOW for May Term and Summer Classes RichlandColleqe.edu DALLAS COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT 972-238-6194 An equal opportunity insitution. Texas A&M University CAMPUS MASTER PLAN PUBLIC FORUM Presentation/Questions & Answers Monday, April 26, 2004 4:00-6:00p.m.. Rudder Theater Get a view of the completed campus master plan. For additional information, call 845-0555 or visit the website at http://www.tamu.edu/campusplan LOUPOT’S BOOKSTORES AN AGGIE TRADITION OF FRIENDLY SERVICE SINCE 1932 Need a Ride? SELL YOUR TEXTBOOKS TO LOUPOT’S BOOKSTORES a ENTER TO WIN A 2004 APRILIA MOJITO-SO SCOOTER WINNER AT ALL 3 STORES ! NORTHGATE 335 University Dr. 979.846.6312 979.846.0748 fax WOLF PEN PLAZA 1907 Texas Ave. S. 979.693.0838 979.764.7355 fax SOUTHGATE 308 George Bush Dr. 979.693.2278 979.764.7273 fax RESERVE YOUR SUMMER AND FALL BOOKS ONLINE NOW! www.loupots.com TEST DRIVE ONE TODAY! M & M POWER SPORTS 730 E. Villa Maria Bryan, TX 77802 979.775.8688 (ALT. #) 979.412.4156