Massive US abortion-rights march against Bush policies

ABORTION-RIGHTS supporters in the US marched in huge numbers last Sunday, roused in this election year by what they see as an erosion of reproductive freedoms under President George Bush and foreign policies they say hurt women worldwide.

Police sources unofficially estimated the gathering in Washington at 800,000. That would far exceed the estimated 500,000 who protested for abortion rights in 1992.

Their targets were: Bush; like-minded officials in federal and state government; and religious conservatives. Women joined the protest from across the US and from nearly 60 countries, asserting that damage from Bush’s policies is spreading far beyond US shores through measures such as the ban on federal funds for family-planning groups that promote or perform abortions abroad.