On Sunday, April 25, I marched across the National Mall in Washington, D.C., amidst a sea of 1,150,000 pro-choice women, men, and children. It was dusty and muggy, but the weather and dirt didn’t deter our intent to send a message to legislators: that a woman’s right to make choices about her reproductive health care is hers, and hers alone.

“Whose choice? Our Choice!”

The March for Women’s Lives was orchestrated by a coalition of seven liberal advocacy groups.  Designed to raise visibility for reproductive rights as the presidential campaigns heat up, it was the largest such march in more than a decade. Speakers ranged from Hillary Clinton to Susan Sarandon, and while the march was billed as non-partisan, the speakers took a decidedly anti-Bush tone.

“President Bush is a sexist; Send that bastard back to Texas!”

The current administration’s opposition to abortion and family planning (save for funding abstinence education) has been evident since President Bush cut funding for international family planning services on his second day in office. President Bush has held firm to his position that while he does not believe in abortion, except in cases of incest, rape, or lethality risk, the country is not ready for the Roe v. Wade decision to be overturned. This position infuriates Gloria Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

My friends — make no mistake. There is a war on choice. We didn’t start it, but we are going to win it! They’re not just after abortion rights. This is a full-throttle war on your very health — on your access to real sex education, birth control, medical privacy, and life-saving research.

The administration responded to the masses gathered on the mall with the following statement:

The president believes we should work to build a culture of life in America. And regardless of where one stands on the issue of abortion, we can all work together to reduce the number of abortions through promotion of abstinence education programs, support for parental notification laws, and support for the ban on partial-birth abortions.

“Pro-life, that’s a lie! You don’t care if women die!”

While pro-life groups such as Operation Witness had a permit to counter protest along Pennsylvania Avenue, their presence was far less disturbing than the homogeneity of the crowd.  There was significant diversity with respect to age — multiple generations marched together carrying banners stating, “We are the result of family planning!” — and speakers emphasized the need to pass the torch to the next generation. The emphasis placed on the movement’s youth was refreshing, since there has often been friction between second and third wavers in the past. But despite this, I found myself growing increasingly uncomfortable. The crowd of 1,150,000 was predominantly Caucasian.  

The Black Women’s Health Imperative and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Rights were among the organizers of the March, and other leaders in the fight, such as Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice, have recently begun women of color initiatives. Nonetheless, the reproductive rights movement remains largely a middle-class white woman’s cause. That’s disturbing because this isn’t a fight any of us can win single-handedly. If the key to motivating legislators to action is voting, then no group of women can be ignored in the fight to preserve a woman’s right to choose. In order to succeed, we must examine our lack of diversity with open eyes, and not merely focus on the fight.

llouison