Women's Groups Welcome Bill Clinton
On Roe V. Wade 20th Anniversary
heryl Slutzky, a
local pension
administrator who
volunteers as a
\ pregnancy counselor for
/- 1 Planned Parenthood,
Inc., is looking forward
to a new administration.
"I am hopeful that the
\ Clinton administration
/' will codify Roe vs. Wade
so it becomes the law of
the land," said Ms.
Slutzky, 26.
Ms. Slutzky and other
Planned Parenthood vol-
> unteers join pro-choice
groups across the coun-
try in urging President
Bill Clinton to commem-
orate today's 20th
anniversary of Roe vs.
Wade, the landmark
decision making abortion
legal in the United
States.
To celebrate the deci-
sion, pro-choice groups
hope the new president
overturns the gag rule,
which was supported by
former President George
Bush. The gag rule bans
non-physicians at feder-
ally funded family plan-
ning clinics from provid-
ing information or coun-
seling about abortion.
The 1980s have been
eventful for abortion
rights supporters and
C
foes. In a few
cases, the
U.S. Supreme
Court in the
past decade
has restricted
abortion rights,
yet has not
made it ille-
gal.
With Mr.
Clinton in
office, many
like Ms. Slut-
zky are opti-
mistic other
restrictions
on abortion
will be lifted. In addi-
tion, they hope a con-
gressional freedom of
choice act will be made a
law, and poor and indi-
gent women will be
allowed to obtain feder-
ally funded abortions.
Organizations pushing
for reproductive choice
include the American
Civil Liberties Union,
and a host of Jewish
groups — the National
Council of Jewish Women,
Hadassah, Women's
American ORT, Na'amat,
B'nai B'rith Women,
American Jewish Com-
mittee, American Jewish
Congress, the Union of
American Hebrew Con-
gregations, the Women's
League for Conservative
Judaism and the National
Federation of Temple
Sisterhoods.
"Clinton is a man of
change, he feels strongly
about women's rights,"
said Beverly Share, also
a Planned Parenthood
volunteer and a comput-
er paraprofessional for
the West Bloomfield
Public Schools. "Con-
gress is basically made
up of men, and he knows
men should not be the
ones to dictate what a
woman should do.
MJC Reception
Preempts
Engler's Address
Michigan Jewish Con-
ference Director Cindy
Hughey is excited by the
overwhelming response
to the Conference's sec-
ond annual reception for
state legislators, slated
for 5 p.m. on Jan. 26.
So far, almost 100 people
have responded to invita-
tions for the reception, to
be held at the University
Club in Lansing. Could
the large response be due
— in part — to Gov.
John Engler's state of
the state address, sched-
uled for later that
evening?
Cindy Hughey
No matter what the
reason, Ms. Hughey
hopes to draw a large
crowd to welcome the
progress of the Con-
ference, which serves as
a statewide network to
promote political and
community relations for
its 13 member communi-
ties.
The conference was
formed to be a Lansing
advocate for Jewish com-
munities throughout the
state, to build coalitions
with other human needs
organizations and to
inform public officials
about issues of impor-
tance to its members.
Members are Ann
Arbor, Bay City, Detroit,
Flint, Grand Rapids,
Jackson, Kalamazoo,
Lansing, Muskegon,
Petoskey, Saginaw and
South Haven. If you are
interested in attending
the reception, call Ms.
Hughey at 517-485-9199.
Friends Surprise
Al Holtz
For years, West Bloom-
field attorney Al Holtz
has had much success
helping his Democratic
friends get elected to
judicial positions. But in
November, he could not
get himself elected to the
West Bloomfield Board of
Trustees.
What a time for a
party, his friends
thought.
So last month, a group
of his legal buddies —
James Burdick, William
Mitchell III, Wayne
County Prosecutor Carl
Marlinga (who is plan-
ning a gubernatorial
bid), and judges Barry
Howard, Bryan Levy and
Ed Avadenka threw a
surprise party for Mr.
Holtz, leaving the usual-
ly talkative attorney
almost speechless.
On a "surprise subpoe-
na" notice, several of Mr.
Holtz's friends were
ordered to appear at
Knollwood Country Club
one evening after work
"to remind him how
much we appreciate
him."
In the subpoena, Mr.
Holtz was charged with
"attempting to aid town-
ship in need."
Republican's
WISH List Is
Thriving
At a time when most
attention is focused on
Bill Clinton and the
Democrats, one Repub-
lican group is finding
much to celebrate.
WISH List, Women in
the Senate and the
House, a newly formed
fund-raising group for
pro-choice, Republican
female candidates, is
toasting the success of
its winners.
Former U.S. Congres-
sional candidate Alice
Gilbert, a retired judge
now practicing law in
Birmingham, flew to
Washington last month
for a reception at the
Capitol Hill Club honor-
ing its progress since its
inception last March.
Of eight candidates
that WISH supported in
the general election, four
won. This, founder and
former Detroiter Glenda
Greenwald boasts, in-
creases the number of
pro-choice Republican
women in Congress by 50
percent.
"I intend to remain sig-
nificantly involved in
assisting women," says
Ms. Gilbert, who lost a
heated three-way race
between state Sen. David
Honigman, a Republican
from West Bloomfield,
and insurance agency
owner Joe Knollenberg
(who also won the
November general elec-
tion).
"Just because I lost,
don't count me out," says
Ms. Gilbert, who serves
on the state central com-
mittee of the Michigan
Republican Party.
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