USA: ON 32ND ANNIVERSARY OF LANDMARK SUPREME COURT DECISION LEGALISING ABORTION ANTI-ABORTION ACTIVISTS HOLD RALLY

Record ID: 648632

  • Title: USA: ON 32ND ANNIVERSARY OF LANDMARK SUPREME COURT DECISION LEGALISING ABORTION ANTI-ABORTION ACTIVISTS HOLD RALLY
  • Date: 25th January 2005
  • Summary: (W5) WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JANUARY 24, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. HAS DEMONSTRATORS GATHERED AT THE ELLIPSE NEAR THE WHITE HOUSE; MV TWO GIRLS HOLDING UP SIGNS THAT SAY "STOP ABORTION NOW" 0.11 2. MV GROUP OF PEOPLE HOLDING SIGNS THAT SAY "DEFEND LIFE"; SCU MAN WITH HIS HEAD BOWED IN PRAYER 0.28 3. SLV WHITE HOUSE OVER THE CROWD; LOUDSPEAKER BROADCASTING A SPEECH BY U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH; MV TWO DEMONSTRATORS LISTENING INTENTLY TO PRESIDENT BUSH OVER THE LOUDSPEAKER 0.49 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED DEMONSTRATOR SAYING: "Well, we hope to put an end to the mass murder that is abortion. I mean, thousands are killed a day, to the point where Hitler would be taking notes at this point. So many people are dying." 1.00 5. SIGN THAT READS "ABORTION IS HOMICIDE" 1.03 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FATHER O'CONNOR OF UNIONTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, SAYING: "It's really unbelievable that we could be killing our youth and unborn, so I'm here to demonstrate for that." 1.13 7. SLV DEMONSTRATORS HOLDING WOODEN CROSSES 1.17 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED DEMONSTRATOR SAYING: "If a country doesn't protect its most innocent and allows the intentional killing of the most innocent then it doesn't speak well of our country's values, and we just think it's important to speak out for that." 1.31 9. MV DEMONSTRATOR STANDING NEXT TO HER TWO CHILDREN; MV TWO WOMEN HOLDING "DEFEND LIFE" SIGNS; MV GROUP OF NUNS HOLDING BANNER 10. OVERHEAD SHOT OF CROWD 2.08 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 9th February 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVADKBHJ448UK0WIH230VA1VRKCB
  • Story Text: On the 32nd anniversary of the landmark Supreme
    Court decision that legalised abortion, anti-abortion
    activists hold rally in Washington, D.C.

    Icy temperatures in Washington, D.C., did not deter
    hundreds of demonstrators from gathering near the White
    House to protest against legalised abortion on Monday
    (January 24, 2005).

    Men, women, children, and clerics held signs that read
    "Stop Abortion Now" and "Defend Life" while they sang
    together, marched together, and bowed their heads in prayer.

    "We hope to put an end to the mass murder that is
    abortion," one young demonstrator said. "I mean, thousands
    are killed a day, to the point where Hitler would be taking
    notes."
    Father O'Connor of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, agreed:
    "It's really unbelievable that we could be killing our
    youth and unborn, so I'm here to demonstrate for that."
    Another demonstrator said, "If a country doesn't
    protect its most innocent and allows the intentional
    killing of the most innocent then it doesn't speak well of
    our country's values."
    Even President Bush, who has repeatedly said that he is
    personally against abortion, showed his support for the
    demonstrators by delivering some encouraging words over
    loudspeakers set up in the Mall.

    Opponents of legalised abortion are pushing for new
    laws and hoping for support from what they perceive as a
    receptive Republican-led Congress and a sympathetic White
    House. These laws include one bill that would require those
    who carry out abortions to give information about possible
    foetal pain to prospective patients whose pregnancies are
    at 20 weeks or more, and to get a signed form accepting or
    rejecting pain-killing drugs for the foetus.

    Another measure, referred to as the Child Custody
    Protection Act, would make it a federal crime to take a
    minor across state lines to have an abortion without
    notifying the minor's parents beforehand.

    Abortion rights proponents have argued that the
    question of when or if foetuses feel pain has not been
    settled. Many pro-choice organizations, such as Planned
    Parenthood, urge lawmakers to support measures that promote
    family planning and the prevention of unwanted pregnancies,
    rather than the restriction of abortion.

    This week marked the 32nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade
    and the landmark Supreme Court decision to legalise
    abortion, which was delivered on January 22, 1973.


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