Thank you Nat for posting this. Some more than sinister ways the anti-abortion (and women's rights, including healthcare) "advocates" are trying to undermine any gains is state by state. So far they have managed to make it near impossible for any clinic to exist in at least 4 states. This does not mean however that pro-choice/women's rights groups, along with their allies--who are in the majoirty even according to this editorial, and sections of the people are sitting idly by even in the face of death threats or violence. The former clinic in Kansas, originally run by Dr. Geo. Tiller, a very powerful example.

The NYT editor says: "Or maybe something more insidious is at work. Maybe most Americans are under the impression that legal restrictions won’t affect them personally. That they’ll just affect poor women without resources." While that "impression" might be out there somewhere, I have never ever heard that said, even by a cross section of the people. And I think there is a difference between recognizing and acknowledging that the poor and nationally oppressed have been the hardest hit by all the reactionaries insanity.

In another discussion, about Stonewall/Gay Liberation, etc., IMO Mike E. makes some very good points in his comments. One of those being:

“And the changes that have happened are not (as claimed by the mouthpieces of this system) proof of its progressive nature, and its responsiveness to popular interests, and its build-in journey toward "a more perfect union" (and all that other bullshit). It is a testimony to the struggle of people, and also to the ways capitalism itself finds some older forms of oppression outdated, and invents new ones to serve itself.”

I was thinking about Mike’s comment just this morning as I was listening to another analysis as to why there doesn’t appear (on the surface) to be that much resistance to those trying to reverse not just Roe vs. Wade, but standing up to all the reactionary reaction to women’s rights and humanity in general.

In attempts to describe this phenomena, the analyst was saying that besides there not being much knowledge amongst the 30 and under folk, that a huge section of the people think pro-choice, and the legalization of abortion, is a done deal; unlike the struggle for say gay rights, which is in “process,” a “new beginning” and “newer on the agenda.” I guess this is supposed to give some credence or legitimacy to some theory that e.g. the struggle for gay rights and liberation has more urgency and immediacy.

Besides the fact that progress has been made on various fronts, and the political landscape is in flux (and changing), even if some interpret this as piecemeal and not particularly significant, I think that besides “the ways capitalism itself finds some older forms of oppression outdated, and invents new ones to serve itself,” we should try and examine how things progress. An example: recently when there were thousands in India originally protesting a brutal (and reported) rape, those militant demonstrations morphed into an anti-misogyny one, taking on centuries of women’s oppression in Indian society in particular, but also more generally.

I may be way off on this, but I can’t help but think there is another underlying element at play among more traditional rev. forces; I.e., the ongoing discussion about some division between the “personal vs. the political,” or even how “we” choose our battles—even if a huge and more progressive swath of the people are taking on those battles in spite of us.

While ultimately the decision on whether or not to have an abortion (or use contraception, etc.) is a “personal” one, who can deny that this is within a highly-charged political (and ideological) framework, almost to the extreme? And surely the pro-choice movement, which to some appears to single out abortion rights as the issue, is much more symbolic of so much more and what women’s oppression and liberation means and represents on a whole lot of levels—layer upon layer.

Oh, and BTW, I completely agree with those who say that gay liberation and homophobia are inextricably bound together with women’s liberation and oppression.