The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.60/No.2           January 15, 1996 
 
 
Hundreds March In Boston To Say `Keep Abortion Safe, Legal, Available'  

BY MARY NELL BOCKMAN

BOSTON - Seven hundred supporters of abortion rights marched through downtown Boston December 30 to mark the first anniversary of the shootings at two women's health clinics in nearby Brookline that left two workers dead and five others injured.

"Keep abortion safe, legal, and available," read the lead banner. Most motorists and passersby greeted the protesters with approving honks and cheers as the march made its way past the State Capitol to the Arlington Street Church for a rally. The action was sponsored by the Massachusetts National Organization for Women (NOW).

Marchers carried placards with the names of clinic workers and doctors assaulted by right-wing terrorists around the country. Some wore smocks identifying them as clinic escorts - volunteers who accompany patients to the facilities and counter harassment from antiabortion demonstrators.

Several dozen students from six area high schools marched with signs and banners from women's rights groups in their schools. One such contingent was Students Advocating Gender Equality, a group at Newton North High School started in response to the shootings.

A short rally at the assembly point included speakers from the Young Feminist Task Force of NOW, the Massachusetts Abortion Rights Action League, the Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, and the Young Socialists.

Ellen Convisser, former president of Massachusetts NOW, opened the final rally after the march, reminding everyone of the response to the clinic murders last year. "Hundreds gathered at the clinics that afternoon," she said. "Thousands rallied at the capitol the next day. And the following week, hundreds of courageous men and women went out to the clinics to show their support.

"Each shooting, each bombing, each arson is not inevitable," Convisser continued. "Many government officials have made promises of protection and vigilance. So how can this terrorism go on for so many years? Because, despite the promises, the government has ignored it.

"We are here today to remember the tragedy and to ensure justice. It is truly our battle. No one will do it for us," she said.

The audience greeted with applause and cheers appeals by several speakers for a large turnout inside and outside the courtroom during the trial of John Salvi, the rightist who has been charged with the murders at the Planned Parenthood and Pre-Term clinics. Salvi's trial begins February 5 in a Boston suburb. His attorney has announced he will plead not guilty on grounds of temporary insanity.

David Gunn Jr. also addressed the rally. He spoke of the murder of his father, Dr. David Gunn, in front of a clinic in Pensacola, Florida, in 1993. "My father traveled 1,000 miles a week to six clinics in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida - one per day," he said, "because he was the only doctor willing to perform abortions in the area. The authorities were aware of the threat of violence. There were `Wanted' posters, produced by antiabortion groups, with my father's picture on them in three states. Yet they did nothing."

Gunn pointed out that since 1977 there have been 40 bombings, 102 cases of arson, and 96 shootings and assaults against abortion clinics in the United States. Today, 20 percent of women have no access to abortion services, he said.

Boston area clinics continue to be targeted by Operation Rescue and other antiabortion groups. William Cotter, local head of Operation Rescue, told the Boston Globe that his organization will not abandon confrontation at the clinics. He said the clinic murders are being used "not only to slander us, but to further the violence they're involved in, which is the day-in, day-out violence of abortion."

Other rally speakers included Susan Webber, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood; poets Marge Piercy and Rosario Morales; Diane Djong, a welfare rights activist; and Dominic Bozzotto, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union Local 26.

Kate DeSmet, a member of the Newspaper Guild on strike against the Detroit News and Free Press, also spoke. "I am here because of two issues - violence and justice," she said. "You in Boston know about these issues and so do we. I represent here today the 2,000 men and women on strike in Detroit. I bring you the good news that, like you, we are not going to give up."

After the rally many participants joined a memorial service and candlelight vigil outside the clinics in Brookline sponsored by Planned Parenthood and Pre-Term.

 
 
 
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