'We leave the park, drowning out hree people from SPÚC by singing: ust you wait Mr Corrie, just you wait. ou i be sorry but your tears will come late. We sang all the way to the te. The Big Flame song sheet really in handy.
As we passed Piccadilly we saw strators walking back from the tyr When we arrived we joined the omen dancing and singing 'We won't be ruled by men no more. 3.15pm to the continual heckles march. She explains abortion is for working people.
Jo Richardson, Labour full which MARIE Patterson, announcing herself as the 'chairman' of the TUC women's advisory committee, starts off the rally of a small section of worgen from the front of the important MP, waS she next. She said she was speaking with the But much more report?
a hopported the demo Party supported demo and woman's right to choose.
She hoped that with the NEC in charge of the party manifesto, the next Labour government would be forced to take more positive action for abortion rights. She particularly paid tribute to the National Abortion Campaign and finished up with the rousing statement that: It is normal for the Special Branch to 'observe' demonstrations. As the abortion march filed into Trafalgar Square at least four SB members studied the faces of the marchers.
interesting, the person indicated in the photograph was actually on the demonstration and was pulled out of it by his colleagues with whom he is pictured.
There are some questions that we would like Labour MPs to ask the Home Secretary: How many Special Branch officers were employed on the demonstration? Why were they there? How much overtime were they paid? What was their report of the demonstration? Where is the T.U.C. says ABORTION 'We must show chauvinist body women are not prepared to put up with these restrictions'. But even this failed to satisfy the women at the front who still heckled.
The next speaker annoyed many in the Tory Nelson said he was in favour of the "individual freedom control their own bodies'. He did not which make rights. •NAC -But, fighting abortion:
1967 Act.' February.
'Stand by keep it safe.' biggest trade Relations Act.
the kind lead such a fight.
speeches, Anger few win the vote. the size of the Parliament, that that JC Nee MP Anthony of women to nonsense abortio Marie Patterson helped to the audience a little by her the pickets that were taking Maona AMSICTURN Brussels and Copenhagen is:
Angela Phillips, speaking addressed the women who heckling throughout the speec we should have a women's the platform, she said, and there should be. Women had made abortion a and the she went do gee she went on, movement needed the trade such powerfal e TUC support meant that the i abortion could be raised 'where had never been a women's group been a NAC group'.
She added that it was a sham the women who were shouting loades had not been with us campaigning.
She also made it clear that wor should decide abor "An inherent belief in the stupidity of women is written into th She argued that despite this, the 67 Act had helped to free women frown the fear of pregnancy and that they wood never return to the old sitnation She ended her speech by thanking people for the tremendous turn out on the demonstration, but urging peoph to take a day off work again on 5 'Working women Powd have to lose a lot more than one day's wages if the Corrie Bill passes.
Len Murray was the last speaker. He told us why the TUC was opposing the act and finished off with the slogan the "67 Act. Keep it legal, Assurance Marie Patterson closed the rally with the assurance that this was the union demonstration since the march against the Industrial That march gave the green light to hitu opposition defeated Heath and could certainly defeat Corrie. The TUC leaders gave no indication that they're preparing As the platform walks away after their the demonstration IS SEl entering the square. Surely it would have been better to have the rally at Hyd Park, ending the demonstration with a march 1o Downing Street.
is obviously mounting against the Tories and the campaigo ha got off to a good start. The energies of feminists must be harnessed in the next months to build the kind of campaign the suffragettes launched to We cannot wait for the trade unions to act. We have to combine getting across to the ranks of the trade unions - particularly the female ranks -a campaign that shows that women can fight and they will not accept such an assault on their rights as human beings. A postscript: Later that night THE TV is switched on to see how our nice, objective media reports the demo. The Beeb is true to form. The size of our demo is not mentioned, but equal time is given to a SPUC demo which has only a thousand people on it ITV ignores SPUC, but fails to give demo either. happened? Possibly the police hadn't worked out what figure they were goim to give till later on. They finally decide on 17,000 which was duly reprinted in most papers the next morning. It makes The contact name and telephone number we published last week for Scotland was incorrect. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Socialist Challenge 1 November 1979 Page 3
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GAL WOMAN ABOUR
KEEP IT LEGAL KEEP IT SAFE