Pro-Abortion Groups Invite Radical Protesters to March, Violence a Worry
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 15, 2004
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Still having problems finding enough people to attend their pro-abortion march in Washington on April 25, leading pro-abortion groups are inviting radical protest organizations and professional protesters to participate in hopes of swelling their ranks.
Though the pro-abortion march is co-sponsored by more than 1,000 advocacy groups, it may take activists on other political issues and causes to swell their ranks and create a nice-looking photo opportunity.
Alice Cohan, director of the so-called "March for Women’s Lives" told the Washington Post that organizers are hoping for a crowd "too big to ignore" and one that rivals the 750,000 abortion advocates claim attended the last pro-abortion march in 1992.
However, Cohan and her friends are apparently worried about turnout.
The march is planned for the same weekend as meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank and extreme anti-globalization protesters have been invited to join the pro-abortion marchers.
But, the influx of radical protesters could lead to violence and acts of vandalism.
The Radical Cheerleaders of D.C., a professional protest group, is so worried about acts of violence from march participants that, in an alert encouraging people to attend the march, it implored attendees to not participate in "property destruction and police confrontation as tactics."
"[I]f you or your group has a strong affinity for property destruction and/or confrontation, we suggest channeling your efforts in creative ways," the protest group said in an email alert.
Ironically, the Radical Cheerleaders suggest targeting pro-life people with vandalism as a better course of action.
"We can guarantee that there will be anti-choice counter-protesters present throughout the city," the email alert reads. "Though angrily confronting such people is useless because they are irrational and will not listen to you, their demonstrations often rely heavily on visuals. These visuals are often put on the sides of mobile vehicles or set up behind a very small fence; either way a thick layer of paint could really compliment a bloody fetus picture."
The Baltimore Times predicts that "hundreds of thousands" of marchers will attend. How many come and how much trouble they cause is anyone’s guess.
