On Monday, Jan. 22, NOW will hold its annual candlelight vigil in the shadow of the U.S. Supreme Court, commemorating the 34th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision affirming women's constitutional right to abortion. "Just across from the Supreme Court stands the Capitol, where the legislative branch of our government is under new leadership. The promise of a new Congress is heartening, but we cannot let our guard down. We must continue to be vigilant about upholding a woman's right to make her own childbearing decisions, including access to birth control and abortion," said NOW President Kim Gandy. NOW and its allies will join together on Jan. 22, to stand steadfast in support of the constitutional right that has protected women's privacy and rights for 34 years.
| WHAT: |
NOW's annual candlelight vigil commemorating the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade |
| |
|
| SPEAKERS: |
Olga Vives, NOW Executive Vice President Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) Ellie Smeal, Feminist Majority Foundation/Feminist Majority President Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq., National Congress of Black Women, Inc., National Chair Susan Scanlon, National Council of Women's Organizations Chair and Women's Research and Education Institution President Duchy Trachtenberg, Montgomery County Council and Maryland NOW President Priscilla Huang, National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum Reproductive Justice Project Director Rev. Penny Willis, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Justice, Director of Multicultural Programs Marjorie Signer, Virginia NOW President |
| |
|
| WHEN: |
Monday, January 22, 2007 |
| |
|
| WHERE: |
In front of the U.S. Supreme Court |
| |
|
| TIME: |
5:00 pm Vigil 5:30 pm Speaking program begins |
"Many states across the country are considering abortion bans like the one South Dakota passed last year — dangerous bans that no doubt will be challenged and possibly argued before the Supreme Court. With two new justices whose decisions could overturn Roe, and the Hyde Amendment federal funding ban still in place that limits poor women's access to abortion, we will remind the nation that reproductive health, rights and justice hang in the balance," said Gandy.
