Though this is ancient history for me and my generation, some of whom are now welcoming grandchildren into the world, some of the lessons we’ve learned bear repeating. Chief among them is that many women who have had babies find it harder, if not impossible, to see abortion as nothing more than a “choice” to eliminate an inconvenience.
I fall into this camp, though I’ve never been able to support reversing Roe v. Wade, which makes me unpopular with nearly everyone. Apart from legal arguments as to whether the Supreme Court ruling was constitutionally appropriate, I’m libertarian-leaning enough to insist that government should have no role in determining what anyone does with his or her body — as long as no one else is hurt…
That other women, such as Palin, want to reframe the abortion debate in new feminist terms, arguing that abortion hurts women and is, therefore, anti-woman, doesn’t bother me a bit. And it shouldn’t bother older-school feminists.
Equality, after all, means that every woman has a voice.
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