Anti-abortion activists mark Roe vs. Wade anniversary

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thousands of emotional demonstrators took their message that abortion is evil to the steps of the Supreme<br>Court on Monday to mark the 27th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision

Monday, January 24th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thousands of emotional demonstrators took their message that abortion is evil to the steps of the Supreme
Court on Monday to mark the 27th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision that made the procedure legal.

"Abortion is killing," Germaine Renzi, a Beltsville, Md., mother of nine, said shortly before the march up Constitution Avenue began. "Everyone wants to talk about the woman's body. What about the rights of the child?"

"The personhood of the unborn child is the real issue," added Bill O'Brien of Wolcott, Conn.

As police in riot gear kept a watchful eye, demonstrators rallied near the White House, then trooped up Capitol Hill to the high court's building behind the Capitol.

Carrying signs that read "The Natural Choice Is Life" and "Face It Abortion Kills," printed around a baby's face, scores of protesters made their way into congressional buildings to lobby lawmakers and especially to push for restrictions on a form of abortion opponents call partial-birth abortion.

The abortion debate has raged continuously since the landmark Jan. 22, 1973, decision. Many of the protesters said they have
traveled to Washington every year since then to vent their anger.

"By doing something like this, it's stirring people's emotions up," said Paula Quinn, a protester from Gaithersburg, Md. "This is about saving babies' lives."

Jatrice Martel Gaiter, president of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, said she believes in the right to peaceful protest but added: "Reproductive freedom should remain a personal and private decision between a woman and her family, a woman and her doctor, a woman and her faith."

Congress enacted federal bans on partial-birth abortions twice, and President Clinton vetoed both of them. The Supreme Court has agreed to decide this year whether states may ban the procedure.

Thirty states have laws on the books, but courts have blocked enforcement of most of them.

"We are committed to passing legislation this year that will stop this awful partial-birth procedure," House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, told the protesters.

"We must stand up as pro-life Americans," said Rep. Ronnie Shows, D-Miss. "We must commit ourselves to action."

And Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., urged the crowd to support candidates for president and Congress this year who oppose abortion. "The time has come ... to ensure that the next president and Congress are pro-life," Smith told the crowd. "For too long we've been forced to fight."

Many in the crowd took aim at the pro-abortion records of Democratic presidential candidates Vice President Al Gore and former Sen. Bill Bradley.

Some members of the activist group National Right to Life also singled out Sen. John McCain of Arizona, vying for the Republican
nomination.

"All of the other Republican candidates for president have taken strong pro-life positions," said Carol Tobias, director of the organization's political action committee.

"Each of them would be a stronger pro-life president than John McCain."