Take Action Against Anti-Choice Rally Today in Omaha

Today's the day to Counter Protest the extreme Pro-Life Group, Operation Rescue, which is organizing against the opening of abortion clinics in Nebraska.

The protests are targeting Dr. LeRoy Carhart's plans to open a late-term abortion clinic in Omaha. Carhart is a former employee of Dr. Tiller - who we all remember was killed only three months ago for his basic, but profound belief: to trust women.

As written about in a Newsweek profile of Dr. Carhart - he is a target because he gives women the most options when it comes to abortion - and subsequently trusts that they make the effort to come to him when they must choose such a procedure:

What makes Carhart such a target isn't just that he performs abortions—about 1,800 doctors do so today—but that he is among the very few still willing to do so late into pregnancy. Only 1.3 percent of abortions happen after the 21st week of pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control. But those procedures have become the focus of intense debate. To pro-choicers they are tragic stories of late-discovered anomalies, with heroic doctors terminating a fetus that wouldn't survive long after birth. To pro-lifers they are morality tales that best prove the point about all abortion.

Once again, I want to emphasize something: no one is "pro-abortion" in the literal sense of the word. But why should it be up to interest groups to decide the choices that women have in terms of access to a legal medical procedure? Being pro-choice means defending the right to make a decision for yourself, not allowing someone else to decide for you. Until we start trusting ourselves, however, it will be hard to trust other women. So this process starts first and foremost within ourselves; I hope everyone realizes that and if they are anti-choice, please consider why you don't trust other women in the first place. You may find that it has nothing to do with abortion but a larger societal problem that sees women as less instead of more.

In conclusion, for those in Omaha, Nebraska I hope you will counter protest (peacefully) the actions by Operation Rescue. For those outside of Nebraska, NARAL is hosting a virtual rally and here's how you can participate:

Women accessing their legal right to abortion--and the providers who make this possible--should never be targets of violence. That is why NARAL Pro-Choice America is holding a virtual rally on Friday, August 28 to show support for Dr. Carhart, his staff, his patients, and all women's reproductive health and health-care professionals. Here are easy ways you can participate:

• Sign our letter in support of Dr. Carhart.
• Add your photo to our "Trust Women" Flickr slideshow.
• On August 28, update your Facebook or MySpace status to "Trust women. Stand against anti-choice extremism." and post a link to this page.
• On Twitter? Tweet in support of Dr. Carhart (and, of course, follow us if you don't already!)
• Change your profile photo or icon on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or LiveJournal to your own "Trust Women" photo, or use one of the graphics from our "Virtual Rally Center." You can also feel free to add any of these graphics to your blog, or anywhere else you can think of.