Washington Rally: Abortion Debate Turns into Numbers Game

In spite of disputes over crowd numbers and “biased” media coverage, officials of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) say the April 28 prolife rally in Washington, D.C., was successful in boosting the momentum of their cause. “We have received thousands of phone calls in the weeks immediately following the rally,” NRLC communications director Nancy Myers told CHRISTIANITY TODAY. “It has definitely energized the movement in the states.”

Myers acknowledged that many of the calls were prompted by frustration over perceived negative coverage of the rally by the press and other mass media and inaccurate estimates of the crowd size. But even the frustration, she said, can be useful. “We’ve been encouraging all the people who were angry to use the energy and anger to focus on saving some babies and prove there were more numbers by voting for prolife candidates in November,” Myers said.

Indeed, much of the national attention to the rally focused not on the issue of abortion but on discussion about how many people actually participated in the event. The official National Park Service estimate was 200,000, but the NRLC believes the number was closer to 500,000. The numbers took on added importance because rally organizers promoted the event as a demonstration that the prolife position is the majority American view and that prolifers can bring to Washington just as many supporters as the prochoice movement—if not more. Last April, Park Police estimated that 300,000 people attended a prochoice rally organized by the National Organization for Women.

Myers said her group is confident their own estimates are the more legitimate ones. The National Park Service estimate was taken at 4 P.M., nearly two hours after the official program began and seven hours after the suggested rally arrival time. And the unexpectedly balmy Washington weather caused many people to leave early, Myers said. Capt. Hugh Irwin, the Park Police officer who estimated the crowd, was not the same person who estimated the prochoice rally. In interviews, Irwin said he would have assigned a much lower count to the prochoice event—perhaps as low as 75,000.

Is the Blacklist Back in Hollywood?

In stark contrast to last year’s prochoice rally, where more than a dozen television and film stars led the march, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) rally in Washington this year had two guests from Hollywood: Lisa Whelchel of the former television situation comedy “Facts of Life,” and Frank Runyeon of the soap opera “Santa Barbara.”

In his remarks to the crowd, Runyeon noted the absence of his colleagues. “Why?” he asked. “Not because there aren’t many members of the Hollywood community who are prolife. They aren’t here on this stage because they have too big a profile in Hollywood, and they fear they will be blacklisted.”

Runyeon articulated what many prolife people have speculated for a long time: There is a real but unpublicized danger that speaking out on the prolife side of the abortion issue can hurt an actor’s career.

Some well-established stars, such as Pat Boone, Charlton Heston, and Helen Hayes have gone public with their prolife views. Indeed, Hayes sent a letter to the NRLC expressing regrets that she was not able to attend the rally but affirming her commitment. But lesser-known actors fear parts may be denied them by the Hollywood hierarchy, which tends to be politically liberal.

The dearth of celebrity prolife voices was illustrated last year when Christian radio station KBRT in Southern California set out to develop a prolife honor roll of Hollywood stars and interview them on air. The project fizzled after only three or four interviews, which included the voice of cartoon character Wilma Flintstone.

Proving the existence of a blacklist is difficult, says conservative media critic Joseph Farah, just as it was in 1947 when Hollywood discriminated against alleged Communists. But there is without doubt “blacklisting in effect,” Farrah says, not just for prolife but for any conservative moral or political view. “It is a dangerous position to take in this town. People are in the closet for a reason: they’re afraid.”

Susan Carpenter-McMillan, spokesperson for the Right to Life League of Southern California, says she has talked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood and is convinced of a blacklist. “They tell me, ‘I’m with you. I want to come out, but I can’t. It will end my career.’ ” Carpenter-McMillan declines to name names, but says her organization is planning a press conference for later this summer to publicize the “fear and intimidation” against prolife and conservative moral views.

‘Uneven’ Coverage

Another frustration for prolifers was the media coverage, which Myers termed “uneven.” Network newscasts all featured the rally as their lead story that evening, and the New York Times ran a front-page story the following day. But the Washington Post and many other regional papers downplayed the event, according to Myers. The Post, for example, placed a 16-inch story about the rally in the “C,” or Metro, news section of the paper. In comparison, the paper devoted 15 full (18-inch) columns of space, including a front-page story, to last year’s prochoice rally.

Post ombudsman Richard Harwood wrote in his column that “out of a sense of guilt,” the paper has done a few more abortion-related stories since the rally. Nonetheless, he said, “the affair has left a blot on the paper’s professional reputation.” He said many editors and reporters did not realize the significance of the prolife event because “those are not the circles in which we travel or from which we draw intellectual nourishment.”

Still, the NRLC and the prolife movement as a whole are choosing to take encouragement from the event. With a telephone address by President Bush, and personal appearances by Vice-president Dan Quayle, Focus on the Family president James Dobson, John Cardinal O’Connor, and an assembly of prolife politicians and performers (see “Is the Blacklist Back in Hollywood?”), the NRLC says its million-dollar rally brought new enthusiasm to those working in the trenches.

“People who came met folks from a bewildering variety of states, cities, and locales, and from more different church, social, and occupational backgrounds than one could imagine,” said NRLC president John Willke. “It was absolutely awe inspiring.”

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