On April 25, men and women from around the world will gather in Washington, D.C., to march for women's rights, and many Penn State organizations are trying to gain student support.
The March for Women's Lives will bring more than one million women to the nation's capital in hopes of securing women's reproductive rights, encouraging young people to vote and bringing attention to other women's issues, such as increasing the quality and availability of women and children's health care and education.
The march is being organized by seven groups: the American Civil Liberties Union, The Black Women's Health Imperative, The Feminist Majority Foundation, NARAL Pro-Choice America, The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, The National Organization for Women and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Paula Nossek, Planned Parenthood of the Susquehanna Valley health center manager, said 750,000 women attended the last march in 1992. This year, she said organizers hope to reach 1.2 million women.
"We're going to put a freeze on the nation's capital," Nossek said. "We block the metro system, so when people wonder why they can't get through, it brings attention to the issue."
Several groups on campus, including the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA) and the Panhellenic Council (PHC), have been contacted with the hope of rallying student support and encouraging students to participate in the march.
"It's definitely about more than just abortion rights. It's about choice for women. Just choice for everything. Choice, justice, access, health, abortion and education. These are our goals," Nossek said.
The State College Planned Parenthood office has reserved five buses to leave from Weis Markets, 1471 Martin St., on Sunday, April 25. They will get up to five more if they can get the seats filled. It plans to take about 250 people from the area to Washington, D.C., but the group is hoping for more.
Dominica Bowski, FMLA president, said she is working with Planned Parenthood to rally support and participants for the march.
"We will be leading a delegation from State College to Washington," she said.
Bowski said there will also be three buses leaving Saturday, April 24.
News of the march has spread primarily through word of mouth and e-mail messages, but efforts are becoming more active as the event approaches, and organizers are trying to reach out to men as well. "We want men to come, too. We want to make sure they know what's going on," Nossek said. "One of the focuses of the march is the younger generation ... educating them."
Though several groups on campus have scheduling conflicts that will not permit active participation in the march, they have expressed their support. "The march is something we are looking to get involved with in the future," PHC President Krista Eck said.
Because one focus of the march is abortion rights, the organizers say they do expect anti-abortion rights protesters but are not worried about them.
The Silent No More Awareness Campaign, a group of women who have had abortions, is planning to protest the march by holding signs that say "I regret my abortion," "I regret lost fatherhood," and "I'm Pro-Life."
"Our goal isn't to make abortion illegal. Abortion is a reflection that we aren't doing enough for women," said Georgette Forney, co-founder of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign. "I don't think making it illegal will make ... a difference. We want women to be more educated. Nobody wants an abortion; they do it because they feel they have no other choice."
Some anti-abortion rights groups have chosen not to protest the march but have had marches of their own.
"The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation has not organized any event in opposition to it. We have our March for Life. We focus on positive pro-life activity," said Maria Vitale, education director of Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation.
