Newsday runs a fair portrayal of pro-life folks at the march

Maureen Russell, a clinical social worker from Floral Park, said family obligations kept her from attending the rally, but she counsels women who regret having abortions.

“So many women bought the argument that if they had an abortion, their problems would be solved,” she said yesterday, adding that she is a mother of three who considers herself a feminist. “But when women choose against their children, it’s almost like going against themselves.”

Hours before dawn yesterday, Mawn and other activists from Long Island gathered across the street from St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Ronkonkoma to board a bus that took them to Washington. After the four-hour drive, they stood with hundreds of others holding signs along eight blocks on Pennsylvania Avenue around 13th Street, the area designated for anti-abortion activists.

They were met with intense opposition, and more than a few abortion rights marchers yelled at them, said Mary Fountaine, a Sayville volunteer for the Long Island Coalition for Life, who held a sign with a photo of a woman holding a baby. “They hate it,” Fountaine said. “I’ve never seen so much hate.”

She added, “I’m down here today to try to turn the hearts a little bit of some of the people who are marching.”