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Vol.63/No.37       October 25, 1999 
 
 
Letters  
 
 

New York prochoice rally

Chanting "Our bodies, our lives, our right to decide," 75 supporters of a woman's right to choose abortion rallied outside the Ambulatory Surgery Center of Brooklyn in a heavily Latino neighborhood of Sunset Park in the early morning of October 9. The Brooklyn Pro-Choice Network initiated the rally, which was supported by the National Organization for Women and the National Abortion Rights Action League.

The rally was in response to a mobilization by Helpers of God's Precious Infants who were assembling on their 10th anniversary of a daily presence outside the clinic. Some 150 people demonstrated against a woman's right to choose.

Students from New York University, Barnard College, and Columbia University led chants for the two hours that the right-wing demonstration lasted. "Your presence has made a difference," said Frank Monck, administrator of the clinic, as he thanked the rally participants. He noted that 10,000 abortions are performed yearly at the clinic. Distributing a bilingual brochure with the headline, "Every Woman's Right to Choose," activists from the Brooklyn Pro-Choice Network signed up people for clinic escort service.

Nancy Rosenstock 
Glova Scott 
Brooklyn, New York 
 
 

Brooklyn Museum

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is attempting to cut off funding to the Brooklyn Museum because of an art work he claims is an example of "Catholic bashing." In this effort he has gained the support of numerous government officials and members of the press. We might recall that many of these same people condemned another act of censorship which occurred a few years ago.

On Feb. 14, 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who headed the Islamic Republic of Iran, issued a fatwa "religious decree" which called for the execution of Salman Rushdie who wrote the book The Satanic Verses.

Many of those same people who criticized the Iranian government for its fatwa against Rushdie are now supporting Mayor Giuliani's act of attempted censorship of Chris Ofili's painting "Holy Virgin Mary."

Steve Halpern  
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
 
 
 
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