The Daily Herald reports that the National Organization for Women held five rallies around IL on July 5 to call on President Bush to appoint a pro-abort Supreme nominee. Responded Pro-Life Action League President Joe Scheidler:

“I can see why the (abortion-rights groups) are making a public show…. They’re scared…. That’s what we’ve been hoping for for 32 years. I can see why (they) are nervous wrecks.”

Does anyone else see the two ironies in this section of the story?

Cyndee Kawalek brought her daughters, Dakota, 8, and Summer, 5, to the [NOW] rally. As the girls hoisted a purple sign that said “Young Feminists Mobilize,” their mother explained that the girls knew they were trying to protect the rights of women.
“This is to protect the future of our country,” Kawalek said. “If the courts turn (Roe v. Wade) over, what else are they going to do.”

[Read complete column on on page 2. Source: Daily Herald, 7-7-05.]

Daily Herald
NOW mobilizing to defend Roe v. Wade
By Garrett Ordower
July 06, 2005
Monday may have brought out the patriotic fervor of red, white and blue, but Tuesday brought a reminder of the fierce and enduring rift between the red and the blue.
With the nation on the cusp of a battle over the future of the Supreme Court, the National Organization for Women staged five nearly simultaneous rallies around Illinois to speak out on potentially the most divisive of issues splitting red and blue — Republican and Democratic — America: abortion.
Local anti-abortion rights groups, meanwhile, have decided to take a less vocal tact in anticipation of President Bush picking a nominee to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, whose surprise resignation came last week.
Groups like the Pro-Life Action League believe Bush will pick an anti-abortion rights, strict constructionist judge, which is exactly what they would like to see.
But if Bush does nominate a candidate like that, the 75 people gathered at the corner of Algonquin and Arlington Heights roads in Arlington Heights and those at rallies in Springfield, Chicago, Carbondale and St. Charles promised to do what it takes to protect their rights.
Laura Stoecker/Daily Herald
Five rallies were held by local National Organization for Women chapters across the state Tuesday, including one in St. Charles attended by Amy Del Medico of Aurora, front and center, demanding President Bush select a Supreme Court justice that will protect women’s rights.
“If he wants to pick a fight, we’re telling everyone now we’re ready for it,” said Catherine Caporusso, president of the Northwest Suburban NOW, at the Arlington Heights rally.
In addition to O’Connor’s retirement, it is expected that Chief Justice William Rehnquist will soon leave the bench, giving Bush the opportunity to appoint two conservative judges.
If that happens, it could tip the balance and, some say, endanger the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
“We will not let her replacement put back the barriers that Sandra Day O’Connor took down,” said Bonnie Grabenhofer, president of the Illinois NOW to a crowd of about 50 people near Route 64 in St. Charles. “We will not give back the gains that we’ve made. We will not go back.”
Cyndee Kawalek brought her daughters, Dakota, 8, and Summer, 5, to the rally. As the girls hoisted a purple sign that said “Young Feminists Mobilize,” their mother explained that the girls knew they were trying to protect the rights of women.
“This is to protect the future of our country,” Kawalek said. “If the courts turn (Roe v. Wade) over, what else are they going to do.”
Many of the assorted activist groups like MoveOn and NOW that were represented at the rally believe a conservative court would infringe on everything from free speech to the rights of workers.
For those who have been fighting to reverse the Roe v. Wade decision for decades, the possibility of two Supreme Court nominees by a president wholly sympathetic to their cause holds incredible promise.
“I can see why the (abortion-rights groups) are making a public show,” Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League President Joseph Scheidler said. “They’re scared. We’d have our numbers. That’s what we’ve been hoping for for 32 years. I can see why (they) are nervous wrecks.”
• Daily Herald Staff Writer Patrick Waldron contributed to this report