I just had to chuckle at the phone message I got from a representative of this weekend’s fourth annual Walk for Life, complaining that the Bay Area Coalition on Reproductive Rights had pulled city permits to gather in Justin Herman Plaza before the anti-abortion folks could secure their usual gathering spot. The pro-lifers now plan to gather on the nearby grassy knoll. Tee-hee. Nonetheless, those who want to outlaw abortion could still have numbers on their side, saying they expect to be 25,000 strong, mostly by busing in conservative churchgoers from the suburbs and all over the western U.S. The event marks the 35th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which these holy warriors are trying to overturn with what they dub the “new civil rights movement,” even bringing in MLK’s niece Alveda King as a speaker to drive home the connection.
But of course, those who favor abortion rights are having none of it — particularly given the provocation of a march in San Francisco populated mostly by outsiders — and they plan to actively confront and hound the marchers as they make their way down Embarcadero to the Marina. Join the fray if you’re so inclined, or stay as far away as possible.