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Q: So what are those activities?

A: The major activity for us is, we’re holding house parties across the state, and this year we’ve had over 30 house parties. We’ll probably have close to 40 before the march comes. The goal there is to work with hosts who invite their friends and co-workers to come and have a conversation about what’s at stake for choice. I have been astounded at the response. Again, we’re seeing generations of people coming: women who thought this fight was over, [and] their daughters who are now picking up the fight. They’re really inspiring. We’ve also reserved a number of buses, and we’re encouraging people to buy their bus tickets now and get on the bus and go. There are still seats available. Our sense is that many people are going to be making the decision at the last minute to go. We hope that there’ll be tickets available, but they’re really filling fast now.

Q: Do you find that most people aren’t aware of just how precarious a woman’s right to choose is right now?

A: Yes.

Q: How do you make people understand how critical it is?

A: Well, it’s actually easy when we have a conversation, which is why the house parties have been so great, because all we need to do is go down the list and talk about what the president has done to restrict access to not only abortion, but contraception too. We don’t have to guess about what’s going to happen; we know what’s already happening. And people are starting to get it. People get it when we talk about the Supreme Court: that we’re one vote away from having the balance of the court shift to anti-choice. I think we’re seeing more and more people take action, more people than I’ve seen in years, actually. It’s not easy to go to Washington; I mean, we’re not that far, but still, it takes a big effort, and we’re seeing many, many people making the decision to go, and that’s been incredibly moving to me.

Q: For people who can’t go to Washington, how else can they get involved with this issue?

A: We’re encouraging people to sign up for our e-mail list. It’s a really simple thing to do, but what that means is that you’ll get information, and the kinds of information that you’ll get are how to contact your legislator at a key moment; who to vote for on Election Day; what you can do in your own community. You know, the march is not the be-all, end-all. We want people to come back from the march and be energized to work on elections. And then after the elections, we’ll be working on legislation. I mean, that’s the whole purpose of electing people, is we want to get them to do something good.

Q: How much political and social apathy do you encounter?

A: You know, at the moment, we’re not encountering much apathy. Last year was probably a little different. My experience is that people come to work on politics because of an issue that they care about. We’re seeing a real resurgence of interest in this issue because of the threats. My hope is that we’ll be able to turn people into taking action when they get back.

Q: Then do you worry that when there isn’t such a big threat, people will get complacent?

A: Yes. I mean, for example, when Bill Clinton was elected, everybody breathed a sigh of relief and said oh, we have a pro-choice president, no problem. And in fact it was terrific having a pro-choice president because he vetoed lots of legislation. But state legislatures have tremendous latitude to restrict a woman’s right to choose, and we’ve seen hundreds of bills pass that restrict access, from waiting periods to biased counseling. All those things are allowed even with Roe in place. And it’s much harder when there’s a pro-choice president to get people to take action. Also, all the policies around hospitals not providing abortion services, that’s all been going on for the last 10 years, and having a pro-choice president isn’t enough to make sure that women have access to reproductive-health services. I think it will be devastating if Bush has an opportunity to make Supreme Court appointments, and has an opportunity to continue to attack reproductive rights.

Q: Do you think this country will ever reach a point when this issue won’t be so contentious?

A: No, unfortunately. I had the opportunity to participate in some conversations with pro-choice and anti-choice leaders, and learned a lot, and one of the things I learned was that people on both sides care deeply about this issue, and I just don’t see a compromise, unfortunately, which means I think we have a lot of defending our rights ahead of us.

Q: What most inspires you about the work you do?

A: What really inspires me is the people that I work with, and how excited people are to see their actions have an impact. And having an opportunity to make an impact myself.

Q: What’s most challenging?

A: The most challenging thing is making sure we have the resources to do all the things we need to do. Fundraising. It’s a constant, constant challenge. The reward for raising the money and doing good work is there’s usually more work to be done and more money to be raised.

Q: So what’s next after the march? I assume there won’t be any let-up in your work.

A: There will not be let-up. We are going full speed right now to be as many places as possible, and mostly doing house parties and being with as many groups as possible. After the march, we’re going to be shifting gears and turning our attention to the local elections, state legislative races. And as I’ve said, we need a net gain of five more pro-choice seats in the House, which sounds easy, sounds like a small number, but we have to be sure we’re protecting pro-choice seats, and it’s not easy to unseat somebody who’s been there a long time. So we have a challenge in front of us. But I think we can do it.

Chocolate Madness, a benefit for NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, will be held on April 13, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Boston Center for the Arts’ Cyclorama, in Boston. To learn more about the event, visit www.prochoicemass.org. The March for Women’s Lives will be held on April 25 in Washington, DC. For information, visit www.marchforwomen.org. Tamara Wieder can be reached at twieder[a]phx.com