The American Spectator

Political Hay

NOW Is Not the Best Time

By J. Peter Freire on 11.1.05 @ 12:06AM

WASHINGTON -- Within eight hours of the announcement of Judge Samuel Alito's nomination, the National Organization for Women (NOW) organized in front of the Supreme Court, holding signs emblazoned with "Scalito Says Arrivederci to Immigrants," and "If Alito's In, Reproductive Rights Are Out." One of NOW's representatives, while handing out copies of the organization's press release, described the pick as "horrific."

NOW's vice president for membership, Latifa Lyles, explained that they "came out to urge the protection of our core constitutional rights." Asked whether abortion on demand was one of those core rights NOW is fighting for, Lyles confidently asserted: "Absolutely."

At 20 protesters, the protest was small; though NOW originally claimed it and other groups opposed to this nomination would attend the rally, only members of NOW were present. The turnout was low, Lyles explained, because "the large groups are strategizing right now, but we just had to hit the streets to make our presence known."

When asked about the "other protest" in front of the Supreme Court, Lyles looked at the group of people lined up with their mouths taped shut facing the Supreme Court and reading Bibles. "Yeah, who are they?" she asked earnestly. "Do you know who they represent?" When informed that they had been there since before NOW's rally began, a pro-life group called Bound 4 Life, Lyles answered, "It's ironic. Over the last couple of months, they seem to be getting their way in stacking the courts with anti-choice judges. We're the ones in a position to protest...."

Lou Engle, a member of the group, disagreed. "Ours is not even a protest. It's a prayer for the lives of the unborn. We're not angry, and we are for the mothers; we just believe there's a better way than abortion." What did he think about the NOW rally? "It's a worldview issue; we believe in women's rights but not the right to murder the unborn."

Not so for Latifa Lyles. "We believe in the purity of women's rights and equality." Is NOW saying that pro-lifers don't believe in the purity of women's rights and equality? "It's hard for [this pro-life group] to argue that, when they are fighting to curtail women's reproductive rights." Same old, same old.

Despite the media's beginning to set up their own cameras to provide reports from in front of the Supreme Court, the rally disbanded at 4:50 p.m., only 50 minutes after it began.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Abortion, Constitution, Supreme Court