I was so delighted to get “Family Planning vs. Abortion,” your recent set of articles on why we shouldn’t pit abortion against contraception (Vol. XXXV, No. 3). Whenever these two methods of reproductive healthcare are set in opposition to each other, they form a bad versus good, sin versus innocence, irresponsible versus responsible dyad and thereby further the stigmatization of abortion. Access to abortion is not only a right; not only a necessary measure for women’s health and a decent standard of living; and not only a guarantee of women’s basic equality. Abortion is often also an ethical, responsible choice—responsible not only to women’s well-being, but often to children’s as well.

The same week the Conscience issue reached me, so did Katha Pollitt’s new book PRO: Reclaiming Abortion Rights. I’m hoping that these publications signal a new spirit of refusing the guilt trip and refusing the notion that sacrificing women’s health and autonomy is good for children or for our society—or for our ethics.

I’m honored to be a Conscience subscriber.

LINDA GORDON
University Professor of the Humanities, New York University
New York, NY