The Michigan Daily-Friday, May 5,1989-Page 4

CDAR challenges Operation
Rescue at abortion clinic
BY MOLLY DAGGETT those rights away. The issue is not opened from the outside. At that
Encouraged by the possible the life of the fetus' but the lives of time, there was no one in the clinic.
overturn of Roe v. Wade - the women." However, when the police began ar-
1973 Supreme Court decision which CDAR encountered 150 members resting OR members by the front
guaranteed women the right to legal of OR at the Birth Control Center door, a doctor managed to get into
abortions - Operation Rescue while OR members sang religious the clinic and open the back door. At
(OR), an anti-abortion group, hymns and prayed. Though debate the same time, CDAR members po-
planned a national day of "rescue" was heated, confrontations remained sitioned themselves by the back door
last Saturday. verbal only. which enabled them to escort pa-
These anti-abortion protesters "We're going to stop child tients through.
staged sit-ins and blocked the killing," said Jan Opreil from The police arrested 84 OR mem-
entrances to health clinics which Operation Rescue. bers and other members dispersed
perform abortions. Members of Another OR member added, "If when the clinic opened up. Fines of
Operation Rescue's midwestern one baby gets saved out of the hoard, $100 for first offenders and $200 for
affiliate targeted three clinics in the it was worth it." second offenders were set for OR
Detroit metropolitan area on After about two hours of discord members who entered a guilty plea.
Saturday, closing two of them while between the two groups, the police Those who pleaded not guilty were
forcing another to delay its opening. arrested members of OR on charges held in Macomb County Jail.
In Sterling Heights, at one of the of trespassing and carried them into "It would have been one thing if
clinics whose doors were blocked by waiting vans. After OR members it was a bunch of citizens concerned
OR members,150 University were removed from the door, others about what was happening in their
students and community members jumped in their places, continuing to neighborhood, but they weren't
from the Ann Arbor and Detroit block access to the door. Sterling Heights residents."
chapters of the Committee to Defend "We're trying to make sure they
Abortion Rights (CDAR) held a (OR members) can't get reinforce- Armew Vartanian, an administra-
counter demonstration, picketing and ments in and (we're trying to) get tor of the health clinic, said the po-
chanting pro-choice slogans. the cops to do their job," said Shanta lice should have taken greater action
"We are here to defend women's Driver, a member of CDAR. against Operation Rescue.
rights to control their own bodies," While the arrests were taking "I feel disturbed by the system
said CDAR member Camille Co- place, the members of OR gave up that doesn't fully prosecute these
latosti. "We won't stand quietly by their position blocking the back door people and lets them loose with a
SUZI SILBAR/Daily while Operation Rescue tries to take of the clinic, which could not be slap on the wrist," said Vartanian.

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Pro-choice activists successfully open an abortion clinic
that had been shut by Operation Rescue last weekend.


Ann Arbor activists rally for reproductive freedom
BY KIM CLUM tivists gathered outside the Ann Ar- tion Rights (CDAR), coincided with "We have to fight for much more access to all women. Both in theory
Women's rights to safe and legal bor Federal Building as part of a na- the presentation of arguments in the than just the idea of reproductive and in practice we must fight for the
abortions must be maintained and tional campaign to demonstrate to Webster v. Reproductive Health freedom. We have to fight for the right for women to choose when to
expanded to include access for poor the Supreme Court that women are Services Case to the Supreme Court. reality. For the funding to provide be mothers and when not to be," said
women and women of color, speak- mobilized around the issue of repro- See Rally, Page 13
ers at a rally for reproductive rights ductive freedom.
said last Wednesday. The rally, organized by the Ann
More than 100 pro-choice ,ac- Arbor Committee to Defend Abor-

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Pro-choice activists gather to support reproductive rights.

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