Vol. 71/No. 19 May 14, 2007
Abortion is a medical procedure. The federal ban deals a blow to women's ability to exercise their right to undergo that procedure by presenting the false argument that a specific operation—dubbed "partial-birth abortion" by opponents of abortion—is somehow morally abhorrent. Democratic politicians posing as defenders of women's rights have echoed this argument, criticizing the law their party helped pass only for not including an exception for women's health. But the real target is the fight for women's equality.
The question is women's rights, not "ethical" concerns or "defining" the stage at which human life begins. Without control over their reproductive capacities, women cannot take charge of their own lives. They can't participate fully in social and political life if they can't decide whether or when to bear children.
The aim of the offensive against the right to choose, and other attacks on women's rights, is to undermine women's self-confidence and reinforce their second-class status, which the bosses perpetuate to maximize their profits. That's why the entire working class has a stake in defending the right to choose.
The U.S. rulers go after this right piecemeal, because most working people support women's right to choose abortion. In order to avoid a head-on conflict, successive Democratic and Republican administrations have steadily chipped away at it since women won decriminalization of abortion in 1973. Today, 87 percent of U.S. counties have no abortion provider—a fact that hits working-class women, especially those in rural areas, the hardest. Banning D&E is the latest attempt to whittle away at the right to choose.
The recent decision by the Mexico City legislature to legalize abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy reflects the deeper integration of women into social and economic life, a trend in Latin America and around the world. As the numbers of women in the workforce grow, the fight to defend, or recognize for the first time, the right to choose becomes central to forging a fighting labor movement capable of championing the interests of the toilers.
Mobilizing working people and other defenders of women's rights in the streets to defend a woman's right to choose abortion is the only effective answer to the latest attack registered in the U.S. high court ruling. It is through such struggles, coupled with proletarian mobilizations such as those for immigrant rights on May Day, that working people can overcome some of the divisions the bosses impose on us and advance the struggle for women's emancipation.
Related articles:
Mexico City decriminalizes abortion
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