Abortion Conflict Here

Well over 100 anti-abortion advocates organized by the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre stood across Hampton Road from Hampton Gynecology and Obstetrics Saturday, chanting "Hail Marys" for the unborn and carrying banners calling for a boycott of the Southampton doctors. On the lawn in front of the clinic, half as many pro-choice activists took part in a counterdemonstration.

Hampton Gynecology has frequently been the target of right-to-life protests over the years, but Saturday's gathering was one of the largest in recent memory.

Those participating in the Catholic Diocese's "mass and rosary procession for life" Saturday held up signs proclaiming, "Doctors are for healing not for killing," "Pray to end abortion," and "Let's face it. Legalized abortion is legalized murder."

After Mass

The Catholic Diocese leads these "processions for life" at clinics and hospitals all over Long Island. A mass before the procession Saturday was held at Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Catholic Church in Southampton and was led by the Rev. Paul Dahm, the chaplain at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip. It was sponsored jointly by Sacred Hearts and Our Lady of Poland, another Southampton Catholic church.

Members of each of the Catholic parishes on the South Fork participated. There were people from East Hampton, Bridgehampton, South ampton, and Westhampton. Nassau County District Attorney Dennis Dillon was there Saturday with a small contingent of people from western Long Island. "I go to every one I can," he said. He estimated Saturday's crowd to be between 300 and 400 strong, although other estimates were closer to 100.

After mass, participants drove to Southampton Town Hall and walked from there to Hampton Gynecology.

"A Peaceful Vigil"

The church doesn't like to characterize a gathering like Saturday's as a protest. "It's a peaceful prayer vigil for the respect of life, to pray for the babies, for the hope that somehow the clinic will realize what it is doing is wrong," said Corinne Lok, an assistant in the Office of Family Ministry at the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

Mrs. Lok said the diocese had stepped up its pro-life vigils this year and now holds rosary processions every month at "abortion facilities."

Hampton Gynecology and Obstetrics offers routine gynecological care, prenatal care, and family planning services. Doctors on staff there do perform abortions, but not at the Hampton Road facility.

The dates and times of the rosary processions are posted in "Pro-Life News," a monthly newsletter of the Long Island Coalition for Life. Pro-choice advocates who subscribe to the publication under false names try to keep abreast of when and where the prayer vigils are planned. A subscription also tips them off to other plans right-to-life groups have on Long Island. The October newsletter, for example, asks subscribers to call if they've received Planned Parenthood literature concerning an upcoming "Teen Health Conference."

"A Real War"

"This is really a war," said Marilyn Fitterman, a former president of the New York State National Organization for Women. Ms. Fitterman believes the right-to-life groups are practicing politics through the pulpit, and their increasing presence and broadening of tactics make her fear for the future of women's rights. "We say 'keep your rosaries off our ovaries.' "

Ms. Fitterman, a mother of five, almost died from an illegal abortion in 1964 after becoming pregnant for a sixth time. That was the beginning of her activism. On Saturday, the Jewish Holy Day, Yom Kippur, she spoke through a megaphone telling the crowd across the street that she thinks God is pro-choice.

Along with Melissa Arch Walton, the president of East End NOW, and Sandy Rapp, a feminist folk singer and activist, Ms. Fitterman helped organize Saturday's counter-demonstration at the last minute after learning of the Catholic group's plans. The pro-choice contingent, which had been "unofficially invited" by Hamptons Gynecology, arrived early in the morning to secure a spot on the same side of the road as the clinic. The right-to-life group arrived later, following mass, and took a spot across the road from the Hamptons Gynecology.

'Many Have Perished'

The pro-choice group, some carrying guitars, sang Ms. Rapp's song, "Remember Rose: A Song for Choice," while the larger crowd across the street said the rosary in unison. One man knelt on the ground, praying, and passing cars honked in support of one side or the other. The clinic was open during part of the demonstration, but closed early in the afternoon.

"The whole point is that women who can't afford or welcome another child into the family will do anything to abort and indeed many have perished," Ms. Rapp said.

Peg Jordan, a Sacred Hearts parishioner who helped set up Saturday's rosary procession, said that the right-to-life groups believe not only in saving the unborn, but in helping mothers and families to get on their feet after an unexpected pregnancy.

'In A Quiet Manner'

"We don't want anybody to be lost," she said yesterday. "If a young girl is pregnant and unmarried we help her learn parenting skills and take care of her . . .We do an awful lot to help and keep people off welfare."

Ms. Jordan pointed, in particular, to the efforts of Birthright, a pro-life agency based in Hampton Bays that offers counseling and other services to expectant mothers. Birthright is staffed by volunteers and, though not connected to the Catholic Church, does receive support from it. If a mother chooses to offer her newborn for adoption, Birthright can also help on this front. But adoption in general, said Ms. Jordan, "is getting less and less because more and more babies are getting killed . . . fetus means 'little one' not just a little blob of nothing."

The Catholic right-to-life groups "don't go out yelling and screaming," Ms. Jordan said. "We believe prayer is the best thing. We can do things in a quiet manner."