Feature Archives

Some 1000 pro-choice Bay Area residents lined the "Walk for Life" today, as thousands of anti-choice people, largely from outside of San Francisco, marched down the Embarcadero and through Fisherman's Wharf, on their way to the Marina. A rally was held down the street from an anti-choice gathering at Justin Herman Plaza, and then the "pro-life" march took to the street. Several groups attempted a barricade to stop the march, but police flooded into the street. Pro-choicers yelled messages about women's rights in the direction of the march. Breaking news reports from the demo

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Audio: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Reports: 1

Indybay's Walk for Life Story from Before January 21st

Planned Parenthood Golden Gate coordinated "Faith in Choice: Reclaiming the Moral Highground," a January 21st event to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. A quiet candlelight vigil was held in Dolores Park, in memory of those who died due to lack of access to a safe and legal abortion. People spoke about what women’s lives were like before choice became law, and then a candlelight procession made its way to Congregation Sha'ar Zahav for a panel discussion with clergy. The panel, which consisted of two women and two men, discussed the long history of nationwide pro-choice action by clergy in the U.S. They said that this past is consistent with religious values of dignity, the sacredness of the human body, and an inherent belief in justice.

In a post to Indybay, reporter greentea pointed out that some in the LGBTQI community may be unaware that the same legal decisions that grant heterosexuals the right to privacy (from government intervention) in birth control and abortion were important decisions relied upon by the U.S. Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 decision that invalidated laws against sodomy across the U.S. The LGBT community now relies on the same legal decisions (especially ‘Roe v. Wade’ and ‘Griswold v. Connecticut’) that the reproductive rights movement has been long served by, and which are under greatest threat by fundamentalist attacks. Report, photos, and analysis

A federal grand jury in San Francisco is demanding the appearance of several alleged animal rights activists on Wednesday, January 25th. People will gather at 9:00am in front of the San Francisco Federal Building at 450 Golden Gate (between Polk and Larkin). These people face jail time for exercising their right to remain silent before what supporters call a "secret government inquisition." They say that a strong showing of opposition to FBI witch hunts is crucial to the survival of the activist community.

In a report from a June 22nd, 2005 grand jury hearing, Indybay reproter Kelah Bott stated that "Many activists (and non-activist citizens) are opposed to the Grand Jury system as a violation of one’s constitutional rights. Once in the Grand Jury room, those forced to testify have no right to an attorney. The power of the prosecutor goes unchecked and there is no limit to the scope of the questions they may ask. The Grand Jury is used a tool of the prosecution to gather information on social justice movements and to drive divisions between activists."

FBI Witchhunt.com | Past Indybay Coverage of the SF Animal Rights Grand Jury

A hit-and-run motorist ignored a red light early Thursday January 12th and killed Sarah Tucker, a 26-year-old bicyclist and member of the San Francisco queer and film communities. The accident happened at 2 a.m. at Polk and Geary streets.

Police said the motorist was a man driving a black Honda CR-V, heading west on Geary at the time of the accident. Witnesses said the car was left with a large scrape on the passenger door. Anyone with information can call police at 415-553-1641, or an anonymous tip line at 415-575-4444.

Alert on Sarah Tucker at www.sfqueer.org

Planned Parenthood and Californians for Fair and Independent Judges held a rally against the nomination of Samuel Alito's to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the US Supreme Court on Monday, January 9th at 12pm, outside of Senator Diane Feinstein's office at One Post Street at Market in San Francisco. This rally was held because of the many issues, such as reproductive rights, uncontrolled executive power, and privacy, that are at stake. January 9th is also the date of the beginning of Senate confirmation hearings about Alito. World Can't Wait also held rallies in San Francisco and Oakland. Photos

Read more of this story on Indybay's Womyn's News Page

As California Congressperson Nancy Pelosi held a Town Hall meeting the morning of Saturday, January 14th to discuss National Security, there was a protest outside, exposing her continuous support for funding for the military. Photos: 1 | 2 | Report

While she has personally supported Rep. John Murtha's call for withdrawal from the ground war, Pelosi has refused to use her power as house minority leader to move the Democratic Party Caucus towards supporting John Murtha's resolution; she has not supported HR 4232, the bill introduced by Representative James McGovern that would prohibit the use of funds to deploy United States Armed Forces to Iraq. Instead, she consistently votes to spend billions of dollars per year on the war in Iraq, while vital public services are being cut at home. She has, however, repeatedly called for the Bush Administration to provide Congress with a plan providing benchmarks for determining when U.S. troops in Iraq could be brought home.

Nancy Pelosi's website | Pelosi's voting record | Anti-war.com article about Pelosi
About Murtha's call for withdrawal:
BTL Interview with Leslie Cagan of UFPJ | BTL Interview with former CIA analyst David MacMichael | Corporate article about Bush's response | Democracy Now Interview with Seymour Hersh | Medea Benjamin

A protest has been called to "Defend Women's Reproductive Autonomy, Confront the Right-Wing Invasion, and Shut down the Walk for Life." Pro-choice people will meet at 11:00am on Saturday, January 21st, at Pier Seven at the Embarcadero, San Francisco. BACORR Press Release

One year ago, the Walk for Life brought thousands of people from other cities to spread an anti-choice/anti-reproductive rights message in the streets of San Francisco. Their march was lined with pro-choice protesters, and Walk for Life was also disrupted and rerouted by civil disobedience. Walk for Life plans to bring a huge crowd again this year, and people from the Bay Area plan to rise up and stop the anti-choice march in its tracks. Walk for Life March Route

Pro-choice activists are concerned by the fact that the Walk for Life shrouds itself in feminist rhetoric. They state that event co-sponsors Feminists for Life, in supporting the criminalization of abortion and women's reproductive rights, would actually cause harm to women.

Anarchist Action | Read more about the Walk for Life on Indybay's Womyn News Page