WOC Alert 10/28/98 - JOIN THE WOMEN'S WEEK OF ACTION
The assassination Friday night of Dr. Barnett Slepian in New York, on the heels of the murder of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming, is the direct result of the polarizing rhetoric of the far right.
The drumbeat against abortion has been vociferous and deadly, with equally deadly results. Politicians and preachers, cynically trying to activate and enlarge their base of support, have blithely used the word "murderer" to describe doctors who do abortions. While thus demonizing women and the doctors who save their lives, these hypocrites (many of whom have assisted the women in their lives obtain abortions), have asserted their higher moral standards, claiming God is on their side, and creating a religious jihad against abortion. And they have further advanced their crusade by baldly asserting a dangerous and patently deranged falsehood as true: that a fetus (of any stage and in any situation) is a baby, is a child, and that abortion kills children.
It is a very short distance from believing the rhetoric of these distinguished men in power, to acting upon that rhetoric. And so, once again, a physician has been murdered, shot in the back in his own home in front of his children. Once again, a Jewish doctor has been particularly targeted - dead at the hands of "Christian" inspired assassins - this time killed on the Sabbath as he returned home from the one year memorial service at the synagogue for his father. And once again, the politicians and preachers have denied that they had anything to do with it.
But words have consequences. And it is time that the religious Reich, not abortion supporters, be made to live with the consequences.
Because this time, we can do more than mourn our dead and fear for our nation. This time, we can take direct action to remove the root cause of the problem - the political instigators. AND WE HAVE ONE WEEK TO DO IT.
That's why Women Leaders Online/Women Organizing for Change is proud to announce: WOMEN'S WEEK OF ACTION: OCTOBER 28 - NOVEMBER 3.
During WOMEN'S WEEK OF ACTION, we are asking women to use the Internet and their own energy to take direct action against those who have declared the war on women's right to abortion. And our direct action, unlike our opponents, is totally peaceful, totally legal, totally truthful. We are going to march to polls, and vote to protect our right to choose.
We are asking women to do exactly what Dr. Slepian's widow has asked: recommit ourselves to abortion rights in Dr. Slepian's memory.
One week from today - Tuesday, November 3 - is Election Day for every member of the House of Representatives, 1/3 of the U.S. Senate and most state legislators. Polls show that the election is too close to call in most areas of the country. So our direct action - voting for pro-choice candidates and urging everyone we know and love to do the same - can make an enormous difference. A difference for doctors, for women, for families, between life and death.
The WOMEN'S WEEK OF ACTION website: http://www.wlo.org/wwa has information and resources to make taking action at the polls and understanding the issues easy. At the website, you will find: 1. Reasons to vote pro-choice. The website details the growing list of murdered and wounded abortion providers and supporters, the martyrs who have been killed on the altar of political rhetoric. The website also contains the PRO-CHOICE PLEDGE, a way to show your resolve to vote only for those who vote for your rights.
2. Information for your family and friends about abortion. Choosing abortion is a mainstream activity, with more than 30 million women having had legal abortions since 1973 alone. It is time to activate those women and the people who love them to vote to protect their own lives and rights.
3. Information about how you can support local abortion providers and clinics. Dr. Slepian's wife called the police six hours before the murder, yet they did nothing to protect him. Physicians and other health care workers need the support of the community to make their lives safer.
4. Links to information about candidates' abortion rights records, and how to reach pro-choice candidates. Whether it's New York's Alphonse D'Amato's refusal to stop the anti-abortion terrorism by voting against the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances bill protecting providers; or California's Matt Fong's $50,000 contribution to the anti-abortion cheerleader Rev. Lou Sheldon; or Illinois' Peter Fitzgerald's longterm involvement and financial support of the hardcore anti-abortion forces; we must stop these men and their cohorts. And pro-choice candidates are often less well known and less well funded, so we need to work with them to help them win.
5. Links to national and local pro-choice groups. These groups are on the frontlines of the battle for women's lives, and reinforcements are desperately needed. The website also lists memorial services these groups are holding in honor of Dr. Slepian around the nation.
6. If you practice a religion, there are suggestions of how you can get your house of worship to take action this Sunday (November 1) to condemn the violence and the right wing extremists. This is vitally important, as the so-called Christian Coalition will be attempting to distribute their anti- abortion voting guides in churches throughout the nation this weekend.
7. Sample letters and information about how you can contact the media to get the message about abortion rights and women's lives to the public. The anti- abortion forces have developed a stranglehold on the discussion of abortion in many media outlets; it is time for us to break this hold, and get the truth to the people.
There is so much to be done, and only one week to do it. But the lives of too many are at stake to avoid the task. Join the WOMEN'S WEEK OF ACTION, and urge everyone you know to take action. Together, we can make a difference.
A FINAL NOTE: If you would like to make a donation in Dr. Slepian's memory, his widow has asked that all contributions go to: Pro-Choice Network of Western NY, P.O. Box 461, Buffalo, NY 14209.
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