Nobody controls my uterus

Today (January 22nd) marks the 33rd anniversary of Roe v Wade. This saw the Supreme Court in the United States rule that most laws against abortion breached a constitutional right to privacy. As such it is considered a key point of reference in the struggle for and against abortion which continues to rage ferociously in the infamously religious superpower. To mark this anniversary, feminist-bloggers are participating in "Blog for Choice Day" which involves, as you might expect, blogging in support of the right to choose.

The prevalence of large, organised movements of religious wingnuts in the States is not news to any of you, I'm sure. Nor their campaigns against the right to a legal, safe sabortion. With the nomination of Samuel Alito - a right-wing "pro-lifer" - to the Supreme Court, the possibility that Roe might be overturned is looking increasingly likely. That would be a bad thing and not just for American women. A victory for American anti-abortionists would also constitute a shot in the arm for increasingly prevalent Christian reactionaries in the UK. Christian Voice and the like remain a peripheral voice, but the Jerry Springer fracas demonstrates that these groups already have the ability to punch above their weight.

In other, not unrelated, anniversary-type news, this week marks the fifth anniversary of Bush's reinstatement of the Reaganite "Global Gag Rule." This prevents NGOs which receive US funding from carrying out abortions, lobbying for their legalisation or even counseling their patients on the matter. Christian fundamentalists no doubt view this policy as a wonderful expression of their boundless love of life, but insofar as it restricts the available of safe abortions it inevitably forces women to turn to unsafe methods which kill 200 women every single day.

Those of you interested in such things can find the British Abortion Rights Campaign here and may find this site informative.

Tags: abortion, feminism, pro-choice, women