WP: For Abortion Rights, a Changing of the Guard

[kskiska]

Younger Feminists Introduce New Issues, More Nuanced Positions

The voices of the abortion rights movement are changing. As young take over for the old, reason is replacing wrath and nuance, the earlier -- and perhaps necessary -- absolutes.

You can hear the change in the soft timbre of Leanna Heffner, a Vassar College student who identifies herself as "very pro-choice" and at the same time believes in restricting late-term abortions. You can hear it in the matter-of-factness of Alene Adams, a 22-year-old blacksmith in Montpelier, Vt., who says she had her first abortion when she was 11, a second when she was 13. "Kids need their parents to help make that decision," she says of parental notification requirements. It would have angered her "if there had been a law -- but it's for the best."

According to various polls, young Americans have moderated their views on abortion since the early 1990s. A UCLA survey of college freshmen in 2003, for example, showed 55 percent of entering students thought abortions should be legal, a decline of 12 percent from a high of 67 percent in the 1992 class.

The Gallup organization reported earlier this year that 52 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds say that abortion should be legal under certain circumstances. What some of the acceptable restrictions might be was suggested in another survey conducted for MTV, that broadcasting icon of the young, and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Two-thirds of 18-to-24-year-olds in that poll said a young woman seeking an abortion should have to wait 24 hours before undergoing the procedure and, if younger than 18, obtain her parents' consent.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38353-2004Apr23.html

[lizerdbits]

1. I read that this morning

I must be in the 'old guard' even though I won't be 30 for another two months.
I was stunned that this woman had an abortion at 11 years old and a second at 13! I would guess at that age it would be sexual abuse and not a 'relationship' (if that's the right word for an 11 year old) but I don't know the sex habits of 11 year olds. Can you imagine graduating from high school and having an 8 year old child? I laughed when she said she was glad there was no parental notification law for her but there should be one now. I thought it was similar the scenario of having an abortion and later wanting it to be illegal.

[thinkingwoman]

12. your guess might be wrong

kids are having sex at a ridiculously young age these days.

I'm 38 and when I grew up, what you said would have been spot on. But I had my first consensual sexual experience at 13 with a 15 year old boy and I was not the only one.

[Redneck Socialist]

2. "young Americans have moderated their views"

We're going to moderate ourselves right back to coat hangers and back alleys if we're not careful.

[Muddleoftheroad]

3. Or perhaps the sides will become less polarized.

[Redneck Socialist]

4. Doubt it

It's not an issue with a middle. Compromise isn't possible.

[Muddleoftheroad]

5. I wildly disagree

I think most Americans ARE in the middle on this issue. They support MOST Choice but are uncomfortable with unfettered access to abortion. They want women to have the right to abortion, but oppose late-term abortions.

[Redneck Socialist]

10. That is not the middle

that IS a pro choice position.

Compromise only seems to work one way on this issue, leading to greater restrictions on a woman's right to choose. That path eventually leads to no abortions what so ever.

[Muddleoftheroad]

11. It is the middle between two extremes

It provides for abortion rights in MOST cases, but it does NOT provide for abortion on demand. It also allows for something many here would object to -- parental notification.

No, the slippery slope has a plateau and that is where America seems to want this issue to stay.

[Redneck Socialist]

23. I don't think that that plateau is very stable

The right is going to keep pushing the issue until it topples over the edge. Each seemingly reasonable and moderate restriction only brings that day closer.

I agree that many, if not most, people have mixed feeling about the issue. Ultimately though I feel it is up to each person to decide for themselves what is right.

[Muddleoftheroad]

24. I think the plateau is very stable

[serryjw]

18. 85% of ALL counties have no abortion rights

Sorry, but we lost ROE a long time ago. If you take CA & NY out of equation about (96% of all counties have no rights.......Roe is just too stupid to die. We spend a decade to give woman this right and it is now lost. In 20 years we will have to start again.If Bushit steals another election he will the opportunity to appoint 2-4 supremes; ROE and all womans rights will be gone for a half a century,

http://www.crlp.org/st_laws.html (fabulous website)
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemId=10487
http://www.now.org/issues/abortion/031704states.html

[Muddleoftheroad]

19. It is not a county right, it is a woman's right

and they still have it.

[serryjw]

21. NOT ANY MORE!

care to read?

[Muddleoftheroad]

25. If the Supremes took away Roe

The right would lose many, many elections. They won't. They aren't that stupid.

[Redneck Socialist]

22. Ack! It's worse than I thought

Thanks (I think) for the links.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

6. I don't like abortion. I don't like the idea of killing in general....

...I'm opposed to the Death Penalty and fully support the ban on "Partial Birth Abortion".

Even though I don't like abortion, I understand why it has to exist and I believe that abortions should be fully available during the first and second trimester. Abortion during the third trimester should only be legally allowed if the mother's life is in danger.

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. Er...minor point, but, these testimonials are somewhat...weird..

"a 22-year-old blacksmith in Montpelier, Vt., who says she had her first abortion when she was 11, a second when she was 13. "Kids need their parents to help make that decision," she says of parental notification requirements. It would have angered her "if there had been a law -- but it's for the best.""

The 22-year old blacksmith in Montpelier, Vt. (Oh, yeah, she's going to be hard to find) may regret the stupid decisions she made (as in having sex at 11), but at 22 years of age, she's no one I'd take advice from.

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. Did anybody catch the limited focus group?

"A UCLA survey of college freshmen in 2003, for example, showed 55 percent of entering students thought abortions should be legal, a decline of 12 percent from a high of 67 percent in the 1992 class."

College freshmen from UCLA...hmmm...

[Norquist Nemesis]

9. That's not what that says!!!

(Mini-rant: God! I'm getting sick of people misinterpreting things and twisting them to suit an agenda!)

Read it again.

The survey was conducted by UCLA. Nowhere does it state the sample was solely UCLA freshmen.

[The Backlash Cometh]

13. You're adding a word that was omitted in the original statement.

The original clip stated, "A UCLA survey of college freshmen in 2003, for example, showed 55 percent of entering students thought abortions should be legal, a decline of 12 percent from a high of 67 percent in the 1992 class."

YOU added the words "conducted by." That was not made clear in the original clip.

(Mini-rant: I'm tired of lazy journalist who don't qualify words such as "of" or "with" or "it.")

[w4rma]

14. "of" may mean "conducted by" in this case (nt)

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. Yes, I think we've determined what it could mean.

The point is, could it have been written better? My vote is for yes.

[Norquist Nemesis]

15. Didn't add a thing.

I just explained it.

[The Backlash Cometh]

16. That's the point.

If it were clearly written, you wouldn't have to explain it. It would be ... wait for it ... self-explanatory.

[JanMichael]

20. What do you expect from Reagan's Era? They're the direct legacy...

...of a meaner, nastier, anti-intellectual, consumption driven, me first, time and place. Parenting replaced by a video screen, 11 year olds dressed like street walkers, over-stressed parents who didn't have much time for their children's development...

I'm just thrilled that 52% still have some sense.