1.22.05 Direct Action to Defend Women's Lives

For Immediate Release: January 20, 2005

Contact: Raeanne Young, 480-734-8327, Rahula Janowski: 415-309-5502

San Francisco to take direct action in defense of women's lives,
refusing to let the right-wing agenda assault our communities.

Residents stand with National Majority to Affirm Women's Right to Choose.

Who: Healthcare workers, abortion providers, community organizers,
students, childcare providers, mothers, peace activists.

What: San Francisco takes direct action in defense of women's lives.

When: 12:45pm, January 22, 2005

Where: Aquatic Park at Beach and Hyde Streets.

Why: On January 22nd, Direct Action for Reproductive Justice declares
through action that women's lives will not be stakes in the
anti-choice agenda. As pro-choice residents of San Francisco, we
represent the majority of people in this country, where over 70
percent believe in a woman's right to choose. On the day that San
Francisco has declared a "Stand Up for Choice Day", Direct Action for
Reproductive Justice will stand firmly in the streets and show that a
right-wing invasion against this city, a national center for peace and
justice work, will not be tolerated. Thirty two years ago, the right of
abortion was affirmed not just by the Supreme Court, but by the work of
citizens in the streets who were committed to human dignity.

Direct Action for Reproductive Justice resists the "Walk for Life" agenda
that denies women control over their bodies and will make women less safe.
Millions of women, particularly women of color, find
themselves trying to scrape by without work, or on minimum wage, and
without access to decent housing, work, or healthcare. This attack on our
communities is a direct result of the "Walk of Life" agenda which not only
assaults women's rights but denies same-sex marriage, and criminalizes
poor communities and communities of color. Rather than scapegoat women
who cannot or choose not to have children, we
challenge these so called pro-life groups to work to change the
conditions that make life so difficult for so many communities.