[link] Roe v Wade 40th anniversary: activists reflect on the state of the debate

[Roe vs. Wade at 40. Posts: #1; #2]

On the 40th anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision, the politics of abortion are more polarized than ever.

To get a sense of what it’s like on the frontlines of the pro-choice and pro-life movements, we’ve asked two activists – Jeanne Monahan from the March For Life and Charlotte Taft from Abortion Care Network – to take us inside their work. In the following interview, Monahan and Taft explain how their advocacy strategies have changed over the years and how they see the future of the abortion debate in the US.

Charlotte Taft, director of the Abortion Care Network Taft has been an abortion counselor since 1975 and is the author of the downloadable counseling DVD Before Abortion: Making a choice you can live with and living with the choice you have made.

Jeanne Monahan, director of the March For Life Education and Defense Fund Before her previous job as director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council, Monahan served in various capacities at the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Do you see Roe v Wade being overturned in the near future?

Charlotte Taft: In my 40 years as a pro-choice counselor I have often worried that Roe would be overturned. Though I don’t see that happening in the near future, supporters of illegal abortion have found other ways to turn a personal decision into one controlled by politicians.

They have also spent 40 years and millions of dollars to make abortion illegal.

And they have failed. I have come to realize that Roe didn’t create a right – it simply recognized one. Women have been making responsible decisions about pregnancy for thousands of years. Women have always been the gatekeepers of life. It is not just our right, but also our responsibility to decide when to bring new life into the world. Women who have abortions take very seriously the responsibilities that come both with birth, and with nurturing a child. Anti-choices extremists have made it especially difficult for women of color, poor women, and young women to access legal abortion.

[More here: commentisfree]

Related:

• By The Numbers: Abortion Rights On The 40th Anniversary Of Roe v. Wade (thinkprogress.org)
• “Roe v Wade” – Should women have to travel for abortions? (lawandmore.typepad.com)
• Why Republicans should stop talking about Roe v. Wade (washingtonpost.com)
• On 40th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, New Poll Shows that Majority of Americans Want Abortion to Be Legal, but States Attempt to Nullify (polistew.com)
• Poll: On Roe v. Wade anniversary, majority think abortion should be legal (washingtonpost.com)
• Roe v. Wade at 40: Six questions about the state of abortion rights today (csmonitor.com)
• #WeAre40: Roe v. Wade turns 40 – January 22, 1973 (lifestyle30.wordpress.com)
• Roe V. Wade At 40: More Americans Than Ever Want Abortion Legal (alan.com)