Bush Campaign Criticized, But Women Accosted at John Kerry Rally
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 6, 2004
Saginaw, MI (LifeNews.com) — President Bush’s campaign is being criticized for asking a group of women with pro-abortion t-shirts to leave a campaign rally for concerns that they would be disruptive. But the campaign of John Kerry never responded an event earlier this year where pro-life women were forcibly dragged away and injured as a result.
Barbara Miller told the Saginaw News newspaper that she and her family members were asked to leave prior to President Bush arriving at a rally there Thursday. Miller was wearing one shirt and carried another with the logo of the pro-abortion group NARAL.
"I thought I might be cold," she said about the need for the extra shirt. "I use it for running. I never even thought about the message. I just wanted to see my president."
Bush campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Millerwise defended the decision.
"Sadly, there are people who try to enter these events with the goal of disrupting these events for people who have worked so hard and want to hear the president speak," Millerwise told the Saginaw News. "It really is unfair to those people."
But, being asked to leave was more consideration than a group of George Washington University students received when they attended a John Kerry rally in April.
In an exclusive story, LifeNews.com reported how pro-life students were literally dragged off by NARAL activists after they began leading a pro-life chant and one woman suffered injuries to her feet as a result.
According to Suanne Edmiston, a sophomore at George Washington University, after the chant, a group of young adults with NARAL t-shirts surrounded the women.
"All of a sudden these NARAL girls appeared out of nowhere," Edmiston. "You guys have to leave right now," the NARAL women told the students.
Edmiston said the students told the abortion advocates they would leave, but wanted a uniformed official to explain why they had to leave a public event and one for which they had obtained tickets from the Kerry campaign.
After seeing the students wouldn’t leave, the NARAL women told each other to link arms and began to surround the pro-life students. They became angry and began to push and shove the pro-life women.
The abortion advocates dragged Suanne barefoot over a rough gravel surface that caused her foot to bleed so much that she required medical attention afterwards.
Despite repeated requests for comment from LifeNews.com, the Kerry campaign failed to respond. NARAL representatives also refused to comment.
In another exclusive LifeNews.com story, two women brought signs to a John Kerry rally in Florida in March. The signs, saying they regretted their abortions, were destroyed by a Kerry campaign staffer.
Rebecca Porter told LifeNews.com that Kerry was "shocked and surprised" to see her sign, which read "My Abortion Hurt Me." A Kerry campaign staffer tore it to shreds moments later saying, "You can’t have that sign here."
The Kerry campaign has refused repeated requests to comment on the matter.
