- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
it's all right there, in two little words. a few letter writers have touched on it, but most have veered off into other areas of discusion.
once abortion is outlawed, the fundies will start aiming at contraception and other forms of reproductive management. they've already begun, with attacks on IVF, the morning-after pill availability, etc. what should matter to every single one of us, male or female, is that there is a small group of people trying to legislate that most private of things, reproduction. the term "reproductive rights" is an umbrella that shelters a hell of a lot of things (basic women's healthcare, anyone?) that a hell of a lot of people in this country think are valuable.
the LW who mentioned that different segments of the population had different concerns about abortion (privacy, safety, choice ads)...the term "reproductive rights" can be discussed with each of those ideas as the thrust of the conversation. it speaks to privacy: the privacy to make one's own decisions about one's life; it speaks to safety in that a woman should have the right to health care while pregnant; it speaks to choice for both women and men about if and when to become parents.
the pro-choice movement needs to have a frame for the debate that is versatile and that can speak to a wide range of people and points of view. i feel that "reproductive rights" is that frame.
