Newspaper Page Text
Reviewed by
Terry Francis
SOUTHERN
VOCE
Vol. 1, No. 22
Taking Pride in Our Culture
December 22,1988
Time for Action:
Pro-Choicers
Fight Back
Atlanta -When anti-abortion forces
brought some of their top people to Atlanta
on December 7th, they found something
they had not seen here before. They found
strong organized opposition.
Right-wing evangelist Jerry Falwell,
founder of the Moral Majority, came to
town to head the so-called "Leadership
Summit on Rescue," a recruiting conference
sponsored by the anti-abortion group
Operation Rescue.
Falwell was met by a group of protesters,
by some estimates as many as 250, chanting
slogans like "Not the church, not the state,
women must decide their fate," and carrying
signs explaining the pro-choice view such as
"If you oppose abortion, don't have one."
After the demonstration ended, some of
the protesters disrupted a planned press
conference by Falwell with the
confrontation ending in the arrests of two
members of the Coalition to Oppose
Operation Rescue (COOR), one of about a
dozen groups who joined in the protest.
Only two days later, COOR activists
demonstrated in front of local abortion
clinics where Operation Rescue supporters
conduct what they call "sidewalk
counseling." The "counseling" is an effort to
dissuade women who have already made the
difficult choice, usually by stirring up
feelings of guilt and fear.
One of the antiabortion "counselors" at
the Atlanta Surgi-Center, gazing over at the
group of about 25 demonstrators across the
street, admitted she had never seen pro
choice protestors before. She brandished
pictures of bloody fetuses, dismissing the
protesters as people who "rebel against
anything." Her statement was abruptly
brought to a halt by a man - another
"counselor" - who ordered her not to speak
and refused to give his or her name.
The December 7th demonstration against
Falwell was the first concerted effort of the
pro-choice forces who until then held to a
strategy of waiting for Operation Rescue to
run out of steam. But, as Rita Barnes of the
Georgia Abortion Rights Action League
(GARAL) and the Feminist Women's
Health Center admits, "People are realizing
that Operation Rescue isn't going to go
away."
Waiting five months to raise a strong
defense against Operation Rescue was a
mistake in the view of many.While Atlanta's
abortion clinics have been under siege since
the days of the Democratic Convention in
July, cities like Boston challenged
Operation Rescue from their first assault,
Cont'd Page 3
Peace Group Forms Task Force To Address Gay/Lesbian Issues
Atlanta-The establishment of a
Gay/Lesbian Task Force was approved
overwhelmingly by delegates to the 2nd
Annual SANE/FREEZE Congress held in
Atlanta December 9-11.
The motion to form the task force
originated in a workshop entitled "Coming
Out & Coming Together to Work for
Peace" held during the weekend. Delegates
in the workshop formed a Gay/Lesbian
Caucus, which gathered the necessary
signatures to move the task force resolution
to the floor of the Congress.
SANE/FREEZE, a multinational peace
organization, has always had a large number
of gays and lesbians involved in the
organization, according to workshop
facilitator Carlie Steen.
"There are lesbians and gays in high
positions in the peace movement," Steen
said. "But I don't think they've always been
making decisions as lesbians and gay men,"
she added.
The Gay/Lesbian Caucus will join other
special-interest groups in the 180,000
member organization, including the
Women's, Men's and Third World
Caucuses, among others.
"For me, there's a strong need for a
mechanism to be there,... something to
25 YEARS OF PROGRESS.
PROMISES TO FULFILL!
help me in being out," said Kathleen
Cochran. She added, "It’s really time for this
organization to be addressing these issues."
Steen said that the only resistance to the
resolution came from members who
questioned the validity of "working on
gay/lesbian issues when the organization is
already working on so many other (issues)."
One caucus member also questioned the
intent of the group, calling their attention to
gay/lesbian issues "selfish in the face of
nuclear proliferation." He added that he had
never come out completely, and would not
do so in the face of widespread prejudice.
"Peace is not just about nuclear
weapons," Steen responded. "In this time
when discrimination and violence are
rampant and growing, we need to be talking
about peace within and between our
communities."
Although the national group approved
the formation of the Task Force, members
of the Gay/Lesbian Caucus can expect little
organizational or financial help from
SANE/FREEZE. Steen said that there are
15 members involved in the caucus, and
added that she will be recruiting actively for
new members.
Steen expects that the caucus will hold
one or two meetings in the next year,
preparing the Task Force's report to the
1989 Congress. Among recommendations
currently being considered by the caucus
are reserved seats on the SANE/FREEZE
board of directors for gay/lesbian
representatives and addition of sexual
orientation to the group's statement of non
discrimination.
Persons interested in SANE/FREEZE or
the Gay/Lesbian Caucus may contact Steen
at 1468 West 25th Street, Cleveland, Ohio
44113.
-Chris Duncan