"The National Organisation for Women (NOW) is 500,000 strong and hugely influential. The feminist organisation almost never supports a presidential candidate, but the Alaska governor's Christian fundamentalist faith and her opposition to abortion rights has forced its hand.

"Other women's rights organisations are also campaigning against Governor Palin, pushed along by a spontaneous anti-Palin movement

"NOW's decision to back Senator Obama when a woman is within striking distance of becoming elected is a bold step for the group and a setback for John McCain's hopes of luring the millions of women who supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries.

" 'The addition of Sarah Palin gave us a new sense of urgency,' Kim Gandy, the head of NOW, told National Public Radio. 'She is being portrayed as a supporter of women's rights... as a feminist when in fact her positions on so many of the issues are really anathema to ours.

" 'A lot of women think it's a great thing for a woman to be running for vice-president," she continued, "but they are completely dismayed when they find out her positions. The idea that she opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest “those kinds of positions are completely out of step with American women and once they find out about those positions, they get a little less excited.' "