BY KEVIN DWIRE
BUFFALO, New York - One week after the shooting of Dr.
Barnett Slepian in nearby Amherst, 500 people gathered at
Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo October 31 to protest his
murder and defend a woman's right to choose abortion.
A banner behind the speakers platform said "End the Silence - Stop the Violence. Defend Our Right to Choose." Speakers at the rally represented a broad range of pro-choice and women's rights groups across western New York state.
Cathy McGuire, of Buffalo United for Choice and the Pro Choice Network of Western New York, pointed out that "without medical professionals, access [to clinics] is pointless." Currently, doctors from other areas are being flown in to make sure that appointments can be kept at the clinics. There are only three doctors in the Buffalo area who now perform abortions.
Marilyn Buckham, who has worked for 25 years to provide abortion services at a clinic in Buffalo, said, "The authorities have looked the other way at the pushing and shoving, turned a deaf ear to the screaming outside the doors of the clinics. They are chipping away at Roe vs. Wade," the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that codified the right to choose abortion. "This cannot continue. Doctors must be allowed to practice medicine and not fear for their lives."
Junda Woo, a member of Medical Students for Choice and a student at the State University of New York medical school here, told the Militant that "educating students on abortion is not a routine part of medical training. Only 12 percent of medical schools make it a part of routine training." Woo said, "This is part of taking away choice. There are not enough doctors to train students." Speaking to the rally, Woo pointed out that 84 percent of the counties in the United States and 40 percent in New York state have no abortion services.
Other speakers included representatives of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), National Organization for Women, Western New York Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Planned Parenthood, the National People's Campaign, and Indians for Choice.
Sarah Hill, a 16-year-old high school student in Buffalo, told the Militant she came to the rally because "I feel the pro- choice movement is part of my life and I believe it's a woman's right." Hill is an escort for patients at the Buffalo GYN Women's Services. "I got interested because as far as I can remember I've been pro-choice and I can't just sit still. I'm not afraid. I think it's unfair and crazy that the doctor got killed. If they respect life, as their signs say at the clinic, then they shouldn't kill doctors."
"I listened to the news about that doctor they killed and that kid Matthew [Shepard] and I asked why did they have to be killed for what they were," said Carl Itoka, a supermarket worker. "That someone should be killed for provided a choice or their sexual orientation is ridiculous. This is beginning to snowball. That's why I'm here, to find out how I can do more."
Scott Chismar, an organizer for Teamsters Local 264, said he "came to support a woman's right to choose and to stop the assault of the right wing." He said he and his wife were on their way back from vacation in Florida when they heard about the murder, and went straight to the vigil held that night.
Kevin Dwire is a member of United Auto Workers Local 1196 in Cleveland. Ruth Nebbia contributed to this article.
TORONTO - "What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!" chanted more than 100 people October 31 outside the offices of Campaign Life, an organization that opposes women's right to choose abortion.
The action was called to protest the murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian in New York state and to call for defending doctors who continue to provide abortion services.
Sponsored by the Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics (OCAC), the rally featured several speakers. Rhonda Raffety, speaking for OCAC said, "Terrorism doesn't work to restrict abortion access." She said 10 doctors volunteered to continue providing abortions at Slepian's clinic in Buffalo immediately after he was killed.
Chris Melnick of the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League called Slepian's killing "a calculated act of terrorism" and demanded to know why the police had not made any arrests in the sniper-shootings of three doctors who provide abortion services in Canada since 1994.
Wayne Samuelson, president of the Ontario Federation of Labor, also spoke at the rally. He targeted the Ontario provincial government of Premier Michael Harris saying, "Harris's cutbacks, which shut down schools and hospitals, also shuts down choice and access to abortion services."
Sherrie McDonald of OCAC called on the participants at the rally to help defend doctors in Toronto who perform abortions and said, "We have a message for the police and the politicians: we will not go back to the days when abortion was illegal and we will not be intimidated by antichoice forces who have lost the battle politically and are trying to win it back through violence."
BOSTON - "We need to speak out across the country, or else our rights as women are going to be trampled upon," Lilie Schechter, 18, a student at Boston University, said as she participated in a memorial protest of the murder of Barnett Slepian.
Some 150 supporters of a woman's right to choose a safe, legal abortion protested Slepian's assassination at a rally here October 28. Participants, the vast majority of whom were young women, gathered nearby and marched to the Massachusetts State House in the rain, many holding signs or candles. Some signs read: "Stand up for choice, we won't go back" and "Anti- choice violence = Organized Crime." A number of speakers addressed the crowd from the State House steps.
Danielle Slepian, a niece of Dr. Slepian, had just returned from services for her uncle in New York that afternoon. "My uncle was dedicated to providing comprehensive medical care for women," she said. "He said that as long as abortions were needed, he would provide them. He also believed that as long as there was `pro-life' rhetoric branding abortion doctors as murderers, there would be violence. And there was."
Dr. Carlin Chi, a family medical resident, pointed to the lack of training in abortion provision in medical schools, and urged medical students to push for this type of training.
Jessica Evans, a student at Boston University, told the Militant, "It's amazing that we're still having problems with assuring our right to a safe, legal abortion. This was something my mother fought for."
Katherine Ragsdale, chairwoman of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, also addressed the crowd, saying she was representing 15 religious congregations that are officially pro-choice. The rally was sponsored by of the Reproductive Rights Network, the Abortion Access Project, the National Abortion Rights Action League, and the Boston National Organization for Women.