By J.P. Freire on 11.1.05 @ 12:06AM
An aborted protest in front of the Supreme Court.
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.
topics:
Abortion, Constitution, Supreme Court
