I went to the Walk for Choice yesterday in Chicago with two family members, and it was great. The weather was cold and snowy, but we didn’t let that dampen our enthusiasm. An anti-choice counter-protest showed up, but their crowd was smaller than ours. And their chants were kind of lame, too. The one I heard went “we love babies, yes we do, we love babies, how ’bout you?” Well, yes, I like babies. Who doesn’t? My goal is to make sure all babies are wanted babies. Our chants included “Gay, straight, black, white, all unite for women’s rights;” “Not the church, not the state, women must decide their fate”; “Pro-life, your name’s a lie, you don’t care if women die”; and “my body, my choice,” among others.
And the crowd really was pretty diverse: a couple with kids in strollers, older women, younger women, people of color, and people from Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio as well as Illinois and many other places. The crowd was estimated at 600 to 800 people. The organization could have been better, however; the Google map of the route was pretty confusing, and it was unclear whether the march would last for two or three hours. The organizers also seemed to be depending on people having access to Twitter to communicate, which wasn’t possible for everyone. But they did a great job of throwing everything together so fast, and I appreciate all of their work. Big thanks and gratitude also to the Chicago police for being polite when we didn’t have a permit, and for keeping everyone safe.
Overall, we made our voices heard and got a lot of support from drivers and pedestrians going about their day. We also had a chance to stop by the MoveOn rally in support of unions and show our solidarity. We won’t let Republicans start stripping us of our rights, and we’re stronger when we stand together.
Did you attend a walk or rally yesterday? How did it go?
Molly
Feminist Forte 
Comments on: "Chicago Walk for Choice" (15)
I also attended Chicago’s Walk For Choice! The energy was amazing, I hope that I can participate in more pro-choice events in the future.
Were there really 600-800 people there? I knew that the crowd was huge but I didn’t know it was that huge. Wow.
I found it energizing, too, to be in a large crowd of like-minded people. It was hard for me to estimate how many people were there, but organizers guessed 600-800. It was a great turnout, however many of us there were. I think there would have been more if the weather had been better.
I agree about the weather. I had a friend who was thinking of coming with me but backed out when she saw it was snowing.
I’m very proud of the family women, whom represented the ladies of the Clan.
Even 7 y/o granddaughter, Cate wanted to come and march with you !
An early starter to say the least !
Good for you all !
Thank you! We had her sign her name on our banner, so she was with us in spirit. I’m sure in a few years she’ll be right there beside us.
Anti-choice is such an antiquated term. It’s anti-genocide.
I’m not sure how you can call “anti-choice” antiquated. And you won’t have much luck persuading anyone to use “anti-genocide.” The media are supposed to use “anti-abortion rights” and “abortion rights” but those terms are pretty awkward.
Well, I went to the protest as well- except I was on the other side. You have to admit the balloons were a great touch! It seemed to me that the numbers were about equal; and I guess both sides were so busy chanting their slogans that neither could really understand the other very well.
In response to the ‘wanted baby’ remark, all babies are wanted by somebody- the waiting lists for adoptive families are HUGE. And if you really loved babies, wouldn’t you do your best to make sure they weren’t mass murdered? They are people, after all, with the same rights as any of us.
Um, I was at the Walk for Genocide demonstration in Chicago and I think the pro-lifers outnumbered you..
Just watch the many videos online. Here´s one:
The only thing this shows is that there was a counter-protest. It offers nothing in terms of numbers.
If you are interested in looking at the numbers, check the videos here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/LuxetSacra
I think the 12 minute one gives a good view of the numbers at the beginning.
If your goal is to make sure all babies are *wanted* babies, then how about promoting saving sex for marriage so a child has the best chance of being born into a stable and loving environment? It doesn’t even take a religious person to figure that out. It’s common sense. In reference to the chant “My Body, My Choice”…how about choosing to remain abstinent until you are ready for a child. It’s a choice to have sex, it’s called murder if you kill the human being growing inside of you. My bad…didn’t you know you could become pregnant if you have sex?
1. Your first point assumes a lot. a) Not everyone wants to or can legally get married. I don’t expect them to remain virgins their whole lives. b) A vast majority of people, even highly religious people, don’t wait for marriage to have sex. That’s why we need comprehensive sex education, because abstinence-only education does not work. c) Just because people are married doesn’t mean they want children. Or that they’d raise any children in a stable environment.
2. Some women have the choice of remaining abstinent taken away from them. I would never presume to tell a rape victim she has to carry her rapist’s child. And just because women consent to sex doesn’t mean they consent to pregnancy. Many women take steps to prevent conception and end up pregnant anyway–even married women.
3. Abortion is not murder.
4. Yes, I know sex can lead to pregnancy, but not everyone does. See above point about sex education.
I would encourage you to watch this video and then tell me that abortion is in fact not murder:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7173223554941761163#docid=75194762152257421
If it’s not murder than are you saying if your mother had aborted you, you would still be alive today? Abortion kills the human being growing inside a mother’s womb…I don’t care if you refer to it as a thing or a blob of tissue…it is a human being period. The pro-choice movement tries to rationalize their position by stating, “Well, it’s not even a baby yet.” That argument doesn’t even make any sense. If you aren’t pregnant with a baby then why do you need an abortion in the first place? What exactly are you pregnant with?
In reference to abstinence -only education not working, there have been studies conducted recently that suggest that abstinence only education could in fact persuade teens and young adults to delay sexual activity until they are more mature to handle the consequences of what could happen:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/01/AR2010020102628.html
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/study-abstinence-works/story?id=9731048&page=2
Unfortunately in today’s culture young people are held to such low standards that they aren’t even given a chance to really believe that others are practicing abstinence until marriage since sex is thrown at them through the media 24/7. Certain standards like saving sex for marriage should always be upheld regardless of what the media is shoving down our throats or what you think most people are doing. Since when did the “vast majority of people” establish what we all deem as the standard for living? In my opinion, that’s not a good reference point to how one should live their life. I’ll look to the Bible and what God says for guidance, not human beings, but everyone has free will to do whatever they want.
In terms of rape victims who become pregnant, they are a very small percentage in the abortion numbers. In addition, the people born from the act of rape have begun to speak out and may are pro-life:
http://www.righttoliferoch.org/nforgotten.htm
Also, in terms of a 99% effective way to avoid pregnancy many couples today use something called Natural Family Planning:
http://www.nfpandmore.org/
Since some thoughts to educate you since you won’t get this type of information from the mainstream media.
You are free to believe what you want.