Bush says pro-life movement 'will not fail'

WASHINGTON -- Pro-life protesters marched though chilly Washington on Monday, emboldened by Republican election gains they said gave new momentum to their 32-year fight to overturn Roe v. Wade. President Bush told them by phone, "This movement will not fail."

Protest leaders said stronger Republican majorities in both houses of Congress and Bush's re-election reflect the public's support for more restrictions on abortion. Chief Justice William Rehnquist's battle with thyroid cancer injected a sense of urgency into this year's demonstrations, nearly guaranteeing one retirement on the high court during Bush's second term.

For his part, Bush, at a rally before the march, told tens of thousands of pro-life protesters on the Ellipse that their approach to the debate this year would "change hearts and minds" of those still favoring abortion rights.

"This is the path of the culture of life that we seek for our country," Bush said by phone from Camp David, Md.

About 150 people from the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese, most of them students, went the rally, said St. Vincent's member Jayne Erwin.

Every anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, prompts demonstrations by opponents and supporters of abortion rights. Activists on both sides of the issue marched in demonstrations across the country Saturday, the actual anniversary of the Jan. 22 decision.

As they marched past bleachers left over from Bush's inauguration, many said they drew new confidence from the nation's decision to re-elect Bush, who opposes abortion in most cases, and to broaden the Republican majority in Congress.

David O'Steen, executive director of the National Right to Life Committee, said the Nov. 2 election shows the Supreme Court is out of step with the electorate on the issue. He said he was cautiously optimistic that the confluence of election results and Rehnquist's likely retirement, though Rehnquist is pro-life, would move the high court in the pro-life movement's favor.

Separately on Monday, the Supreme Court struck on a more modest level on the side of pro-choice supporters.

First, the justices let stand a lower-court ruling that said South Carolina's license plates, which bear the slogan "Choose Life," violate the First Amendment because pro-choice supporters weren't given a similar forum to express their beliefs.

The court also refused to keep a severely brain-damaged Florida woman, Terri Schiavo, hooked to a feeding tube.

Staff writer Matt Sander contributed to this report.