Perspectives: As A Christian Republican I Believe Women In Crisis Should Be Met With Compassion; It’s Time To Reconsider Religion’s Grip On Public Policy
Opinion writers examine the complexities of abortion rights and other women's health issues.
The Washington Post:
It’s Time For Republican Women To Speak Up For Reproductive Rights
The fight for gender equality is the great global cause of our time, affecting every man, woman, boy and girl. As a political appointee in the Trump administration, I spend my days supporting the president’s National Security Strategy, which calls on the United States to empower women as key drivers for global growth and stability. ... Full sexual and reproductive-health rights are a key factor in achieving women’s empowerment. We know that when women can choose whether to have children and how many children to have, their lives are improved. They are more likely to participate in the labor force and more likely to stay in school longer. They increase their earning potential. But, suddenly, the United States is in danger of moving in the opposite direction. (Kathryn C. Kaufman, 5/23)
The New York Times:
Let’s Not Forget The Establishment Clause
I happened to be in Dublin last week when the Alabama Legislature voted to ban abortions. Foreign travel tends to enhance a person’s perception of what’s happening back home, and that was certainly true for me on this trip. It’s almost exactly a year since Irish voters, by an overwhelming two-thirds majority, threw off the shackles of the Roman Catholic Church and repealed the country’s constitutional provision banning abortion. (Linda Greenhouse, 5/23)
Los Angeles Times:
The Best Way To Keep Abortion Legal: Women Like Me Should Talk Openly About Having Them
In the summer of 2016, it felt like all my ships were coming in: I’d secured a teaching job, and I was dating someone new. “Buy a lottery ticket!” a friend said. I did. Then, unexpectedly, I got pregnant. I’ve wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember. Two years earlier, I’d had an IUD removed when a longtime boyfriend and I began discussing kids. Instead of having a baby, we broke up. And then things worsened: My finances crumbled. My dad got cancer.But then that golden summer came along. I almost believed I could win the lottery. (Alena Graedon, 5/23)
USA Today:
New State Abortion Laws Threaten Roe V. Wade And Democrats In 2020
Regardless of when life begins, when it is viable, the state has a compelling interest in protecting it. Thus, when Hillary Clinton said in 2016 that an unborn child had no rights under the Constitution even up to the point of natural birth, she was basically arguing against the Roe v. Wade framework. Democratic political strategists have welcomed the Alabama law as a way to fire up their base and reset the abortion argument going into the 2020 election. But the simultaneous push for late-term abortion clearly works against them. (James S. Robbins, 5/24)
The New York Times:
My Rapist Apologized
My 12-year-old daughter recently asked me what I think about abortion. She walked into the kitchen, poked around the refrigerator, then spun around and blurted it out: “I can’t decide what I think about abortion. I want to know what you think.” ... I took a deep breath. Her question took me by surprise, and yet I had been waiting for it since the day she was born. I always knew the time would come when I would have to tell my daughters the truth: I was raped. And I had an abortion. One day, you may face these challenges too. (Michelle Alexander, 5/23)
The New York Times:
My Miscarriage Cured My Fear Of Childbirth
My iPhone’s Face ID function stopped recognizing me the day after my miscarriage, a hilariously modern alert that I’d never be the same person again. My cruel phone was home to three apps that informed me of every aspect of my pregnancy: The fetus was the size of a strawberry, recently graduated from raspberry status, which felt significant, fruit-wise. It was developing eyes and, more important, elbows. I knew everything there was to know about my growing baby, and I knew I was 10 weeks and six days pregnant when it came to an end. (Kristin Smith Sauchak, 5/23)
