40 Years ago today with Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court declared abortion legal. Now, in a just released NBC/WSJ Poll, fully 70% of Americans don't want Roe v. Wade to be overturned. And over 50% believe abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances. But, as we all know, Roe v. Wade didn't end the controversy. It just started it. I was 23 at the time, and by the time I was 25 had started working in a small Atlanta abortion clinic. The next year, 1977, I also attended Jimmy Carter's inauguration in DC. And the years since have been fraught with intimidation, harassment, assassinations, bombings, restrictive legislation, terrorism and thuggery.
40 Years. That's 2 generations. That's over 50 million women and families that have benefited from legal abortion in this country. Most women alive can't even remember the bad old days of illegal abortion. They take for granted that abortion and birth control will be there for them if needed. Even though access to abortion in the US is woven into the American fabric, it is held together by a fragile string. Obama's reelection seems to cement it for another 4 years and 2 more Supreme Court appointments; but State legislatures are wreaking havoc on the availability of abortion in many communities.