http://themilitant.com/2018/8214/821420.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 82/No.14 April 9, 2018
(editorial)
Defend women’s right to abortion!
The right of women to control their own bodies — to choose whether to
bear children, when and how many, the right to access to abortion — is a
precondition for women’s emancipation. And it is in the interest of all
workers because it makes it possible for men and women to unite in
common struggle as equals in the fight against the bosses and their
government.
Under capitalism, even where it is “legal,” the right to abortion is
under attack. Since the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision,
women’s access to abortion has been chipped away at. Anti-woman,
anti-working-class forces have fought relentlessly to impose waiting
periods, parental consent laws, denial of insurance coverage,
restrictive time limits and other arbitrary regulations. They’ve driven
the abortion procedure out of most hospitals and passed restrictions
that have shuttered abortion clinics, making it more difficult for
working-class women to get an abortion.
These measures are helped by the character of Roe v. Wade. It was based
not on women’s right to equal protection under the law guaranteed by the
14th Amendment to the Constitution, but left to the “judgment” of a
pregnant woman’s doctor and to strictly medical criteria related to the
“viability” of the fetus.
But it’s a woman’s decision, not for the doctor, the government, or the
church. This fight is worldwide — hundreds of thousands are marching in
Ireland, Argentina, Poland and elsewhere.
The biggest problem is not the right wing. It’s the fact that leaders of
women’s groups like the National Organization for Women and NARAL refuse
to mobilize women and men to defend a woman’s right to choose. They tell
us to keep quiet, not to rock the boat, to vote for Democrats who will
look out for us.
This has been a deadly mistake and has emboldened those who are
determined to deny women their rights and weaken the working-class
movement. These same liberal politicians — like Hillary Clinton — think
workers are dangerous trash who should be restrained.
Around the globe more and more workers — battered by the capitalist
economic crisis — are looking for ways to stand up for the interests of
the working class. It is only our class that takes the moral high ground
and fights for the advancement of all humanity. Defending women’s right
to choose abortion is a central part of that fight.
Related articles:
Support for abortion rights grows in Ireland
Women’s right to abortion under attack in Mississippi
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