draining's Diaryland Diary

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I HAD AN ABORTION

Dear Friends,

We have had abortions.

That was the headline of a petition in the 1972 debut issue of Ms. magazine in which
53 well-known U.S. women, including myself, declared that they had undergone
abortions -- despite state laws rendering the procedure illegal.

It's time for a new petition for honesty and freedom.
https://msmagazine.com/donations/ms/womenspetition0725c4.asp

Even then, to many it seemed absurd that the government could deny a woman
sovereignty over her own body. It is even more absurd in 2006 that an abortion ban
has passed into law in South Dakota, though it has been stayed because an initiative
to remove the ban has been placed on the state's November ballot.

At the time of the original Ms. petition, illegal abortions were causing untold
suffering and countless deaths of young women in the United States. Today, in the
developing nations each year, approximately 70,000 women and girls die from botched
and unsafe abortions and another 500,000 maternal deaths occur -- most of this
suffering and loss could be prevented. U.S. international family planning policies
contribute to this death toll.

Today Ms. has started a new petition and I invite you to join me in a campaign for
honesty and freedom. You can read the full petition here.
http://www.msmagazine.com/radar/2006-07-24-we-had-abortions.asp

We recognize that, still, not every woman will be able to sign today - 33 years
after Roe - even though abortion is a very common, necessary and important procedure
for millions of women in the U.S. But if a multitude of women step forward publicly
- and more and more continue to join them - we would transform the public debate.

Just as in 1972, Ms. will send the signed petitions to the White House, members of
Congress and state legislators. We will also post the petition online.

And we ask you to make a contribution so Ms. can promote the petition and provide
needed funds to fight abortion bans and support targeted abortion providers, such as
the sole remaining women's clinic in Mississippi.
https://msmagazine.com/donations/ms/womenspetition0725c4.asp

It is time to speak out again - in even larger numbers - and to make politicians
face their neighbors, influential movers and shakers, and yes, their own family
members. We cannot, we must not - for U.S. women and the women of the world - lose
the right to safe and accessible abortion or access to birth control.
https://msmagazine.com/donations/ms/womenspetition0725c4.asp

Your name and your voice will make a difference.

In Sisterhood,

Gloria Steinem

10:53 p.m. - 2006-08-01
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