Between 500,000 and 800,000 people participated in the March for Women's Lives yesterday in support of abortion rights, including many AU students. At the same time, a counter-protest was staged by anti-abortion groups. The Eagle thinks it's good that people care enough about this issue that they are willing to take action. It is unfortunate that more issues don't elicit the same amount of participation.
Despite the opinion of some that the Bush administration is violating people's civil liberties, the march showed the amount of freedom still in America. People have the opportunity to gather in such large numbers to oppose a belief held by the chief executive and that's an important aspect of a free society.
The AU community has seen both the anti-abortion and abortion rights sides recently on campus, with the flags on the quad and the advertisements for the march. It's good to see people of opposite points of view engaging in a dialogue over the issue. The Eagle also feels that events like these should be an example to students of the advantages of being in Washington, DC. Students have the opportunity to live in the intellectual and political capital of the world and they should take advantage of that, as the protesters did yesterday.
