roe day
Today is the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Here's my Roe essay that ran on Common Dreams last year at this time, which was originally a post on this blog.
I can't imagine there are many of these anniversaries left. The reproductive rights community is fully prepared for a post-Roe country. That will surely be a dark day: a victory for religious interests over personal freedom, a mighty leap backwards for women's equality, a deepening of the overall backwards movement of the country.
But in a very real sense, it won't be a leap at all, but a continuation of a steady regression. Women with resources will be able to obtain abortions. Women without will find a way around it, or they won't. In other words, it will be just like it is right now, only more so.
My opponent on that annoying BBC interview dismissed my statement that reproductive freedom has been curtailed in the United States. He said he had lived in the US for five years, so he ought to know. I can only shake my head in sadness. Most Americans, who've never lived anywhere but the US, don't even know the extent to which reproductive freedom has been successfully attacked.
I say it all the time, but it's worth repeating: for millions of American women, Roe is already history.
From last year's post:
I can't imagine there are many of these anniversaries left. The reproductive rights community is fully prepared for a post-Roe country. That will surely be a dark day: a victory for religious interests over personal freedom, a mighty leap backwards for women's equality, a deepening of the overall backwards movement of the country.
But in a very real sense, it won't be a leap at all, but a continuation of a steady regression. Women with resources will be able to obtain abortions. Women without will find a way around it, or they won't. In other words, it will be just like it is right now, only more so.
My opponent on that annoying BBC interview dismissed my statement that reproductive freedom has been curtailed in the United States. He said he had lived in the US for five years, so he ought to know. I can only shake my head in sadness. Most Americans, who've never lived anywhere but the US, don't even know the extent to which reproductive freedom has been successfully attacked.
I say it all the time, but it's worth repeating: for millions of American women, Roe is already history.
From last year's post:
For more information, and how you can help:Please note: this blog is not intended as a forum to discuss the morality of abortion. Please respect that.
To make a donation that is only used to help a low-income woman obtain an abortion, and to read about the financial obstacles, visit National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF).
To learn more about the political side of this issue, or to make a donation to help organizing efforts, try these excellent organizations:
NARAL Pro-Choice America
the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
To learn more about reproductive rights, which includes access to sex education, family planning and contraception, you can't do better than the Alan Guttmacher Institute.
And to read about one grassroots effort to help women exercise their human, civil and legal right to control their bodies, check out these stories about the Haven Coalition of New York City (she says proudly):
"Shelter From The Storm", by Lynn Harris, from Salon (Salon.com free day pass needed)
"Emergency Landing", by Jennifer Block, from the Village Voice
"East Village Mameles Marching For Choice" by Marjorie Ingall, originally published in The Forward
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