So true! If I hadn’t had an abortion at 21, when I was physically, mentally, and financially unable to even consider having a child, thousands of miles from family and broke, I would have been financially crippled for years and probably a terrible parent. After the pain of a d & c - no anesthesia, couldn’t afford it, I was super careful and never got pregnant again. I never really felt stable enough to have children while I was able, and don’t miss having them, particularly. I like and respect young people and they seem to like and (mostly 😉) respect me.
I’ve long made the economic consequences a part of my litany of objections to abortion restrictions.
One of the truths about abstract ideological positions is that (some? most?) people who hold them are known to relax their positions when it comes to family members or other people close to them. A staunch opponent of abortion might support a daughter in self-determination. Or a rigidly staunch parent might advocate considering abortion the second time it comes up if they see that the mom and child have suffered bc the antiabortion parents didn’t recognize what the daughter did: she knew she was ill equipped to raise a child.
I’m interested in continuing to have conversations, especially with people who vote to enshrine full reproductive freedom in state constitutions but also vote for candidates who threaten still more brutal restrictions. I think these conversations are more important than speculating about which little things we might want to tweak between now and the midterms and before next year’s municipal elections.
I’m curious about research you might have read about behind this statement: “Many conservatives believe that pregnant women should be willing, and if not willing, forced, to prioritize a blob of fetal tissue over their careers.” Given how many people in “red states” who have turned out to vote in favor of keeping government out of reproductive health care, “most conservatives” feels to me like overreach. But I’ve not explored whether there’s data behind you choice of phrasing. Not an attack; I am genuinely curious whether informing this small bit of your opinion.
[I’m a new subscriber, also tipped into $$ support of your work by your essay about slow fascism. Thanks for that.]
It is going to be much, much worse if MAGA manages to figure out how to ban contraception. And if the new variant of Mpox, both deadly and passed by bodily fluids, gets a hold on the population, there could be a whole pandemic in the states that do so.
Back in the 70s and 80s there were elected Democrats who were anti-abortion due to their Catholic faith. I was part of persuading them to moderate their positions, getting choice enshrined as a basic tenet of the party, which led to most anti-abortion people moving to the Republicans. I wish we had considered working more strategically within the Church (shout-out to Catholics for a Free Choice) to neutralize its position. The Church is free to counsel its members against abortion, divorce, birth control, etc. but shouldn't be in the public policy business dictating to others. When I was 16 and needed an abortion, my priest gave me the cash for the procedure.
I was part of a group that convinced Tom Hayden to embrace reproductive choice as an economic issue. As Nancy Dunn so wisely observes below, people relax their positions when a woman or girl they care about is faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Personal experience and deep conversations will move our culture in ways that are sustainable. The strategy of the 70s and 80s, relying on the Constitution and the Supreme Court, was clearly a mistake without changing attitudes within our culture. It's time to share our stories without shame. My beloved adult sons know that they wouldn't exist today if I hadn't had access to safe and legal abortion.
So true! If I hadn’t had an abortion at 21, when I was physically, mentally, and financially unable to even consider having a child, thousands of miles from family and broke, I would have been financially crippled for years and probably a terrible parent. After the pain of a d & c - no anesthesia, couldn’t afford it, I was super careful and never got pregnant again. I never really felt stable enough to have children while I was able, and don’t miss having them, particularly. I like and respect young people and they seem to like and (mostly 😉) respect me.
I’ve long made the economic consequences a part of my litany of objections to abortion restrictions.
One of the truths about abstract ideological positions is that (some? most?) people who hold them are known to relax their positions when it comes to family members or other people close to them. A staunch opponent of abortion might support a daughter in self-determination. Or a rigidly staunch parent might advocate considering abortion the second time it comes up if they see that the mom and child have suffered bc the antiabortion parents didn’t recognize what the daughter did: she knew she was ill equipped to raise a child.
I’m interested in continuing to have conversations, especially with people who vote to enshrine full reproductive freedom in state constitutions but also vote for candidates who threaten still more brutal restrictions. I think these conversations are more important than speculating about which little things we might want to tweak between now and the midterms and before next year’s municipal elections.
I’m curious about research you might have read about behind this statement: “Many conservatives believe that pregnant women should be willing, and if not willing, forced, to prioritize a blob of fetal tissue over their careers.” Given how many people in “red states” who have turned out to vote in favor of keeping government out of reproductive health care, “most conservatives” feels to me like overreach. But I’ve not explored whether there’s data behind you choice of phrasing. Not an attack; I am genuinely curious whether informing this small bit of your opinion.
[I’m a new subscriber, also tipped into $$ support of your work by your essay about slow fascism. Thanks for that.]
Thanks. So you’re equating GOP to conservative. And doing the math to figure majority based on the Pew research you cited.
Thanks for satisfying my curiosity.
Most polls I've seen have the GOP opposed to abortion rights, though not by a ton.
so this poll has GOP against abortion rights 57-41, but Ds support them 85-14, so you end up with national support around 63%.
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/
It is going to be much, much worse if MAGA manages to figure out how to ban contraception. And if the new variant of Mpox, both deadly and passed by bodily fluids, gets a hold on the population, there could be a whole pandemic in the states that do so.
Back in the 70s and 80s there were elected Democrats who were anti-abortion due to their Catholic faith. I was part of persuading them to moderate their positions, getting choice enshrined as a basic tenet of the party, which led to most anti-abortion people moving to the Republicans. I wish we had considered working more strategically within the Church (shout-out to Catholics for a Free Choice) to neutralize its position. The Church is free to counsel its members against abortion, divorce, birth control, etc. but shouldn't be in the public policy business dictating to others. When I was 16 and needed an abortion, my priest gave me the cash for the procedure.
I was part of a group that convinced Tom Hayden to embrace reproductive choice as an economic issue. As Nancy Dunn so wisely observes below, people relax their positions when a woman or girl they care about is faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Personal experience and deep conversations will move our culture in ways that are sustainable. The strategy of the 70s and 80s, relying on the Constitution and the Supreme Court, was clearly a mistake without changing attitudes within our culture. It's time to share our stories without shame. My beloved adult sons know that they wouldn't exist today if I hadn't had access to safe and legal abortion.