NEW YORK (AP) – Thousands of abortion-rights activists marched across the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, the latest in a growing procession of protests leading up to the Republican National Convention.

Protesters also were to gather late in the day in Central Park and at the World Trade Center site, where anti-Bush demonstrators planned to ring 2,749 bells – one for each victim of the Sept. 11 attacks there.

The Brooklyn Bridge march, organized by Planned Parenthood, attracted thousands of people on a hot, humid day. They crossed the bridge in a line 10 people wide and about a half-mile long.

“I’m affected personally, in terms of birth control. I demand and cherish that right,” said Sara Breman, a 22-year-old student from Austin, Texas.

“Under Bush, that right is being threatened through sex education that teaches only abstinence,” said Breman before rolling her bicycle onto the bridge.

Some of the marchers chanted: “What does democracy look like?” While others answered, “This is what democracy looks like!”

Once the protesters crossed the bridge, they were headed for a rally at City Hall. Actress Kathleen Turner, state Comptroller Alan Hevesi and Planned Parenthood President Gloria Feldt were among the marchers.

Police on foot and in cars were monitoring the protests. There were no early reports of arrests.

On Friday night, 264 people were arrested for disorderly conduct in a protest bicycle ride that snaked through the city and passed by Madison Square Garden, where the convention opens Monday.

The bike ride represented the first major clash between police and demonstrators converging on the city for the convention.

Later Saturday, an anti-war group called the ANSWER coalition was encouraging people to gather in Central Park. But the park was peaceful early, with its usual assortment of sunbathers and softball players.

And a group called Ring Out planned to encircle Ground Zero in lower Manhattan and ring bells to honor those who died at the World Trade Center. The group said it intended to show President Bush does not speak for attack victims or New Yorkers.

Saturday’s protests were expected to be a mere prelude to Sunday, when a huge anti-war march was to pass by the convention site and end at Union Square Park in Manhattan.

Organizers of that march have said it could draw 250,000 people. The city refused to allow a rally in Central Park, but organizers suggested protesters could spontaneously gather there anyway after the march.

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Associated Press Writer Desmond Butler contributed to this story.

AP-ES-08-28-04 1756EDT

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