We might not need an abortion, but we need equality and freedom.
Some lesbians – especially long-lived lesbians whose childbearing days are over – might say that abortion rights don’t matter. But I disagree.
Yes, of course it’s true that lesbians are less likely than our straight sisters to need abortions. Since most of our sex is with each other, there’s no chance of accidental pregnancy. But many of us have been (and sometimes still are) in heterosexual relationships. And of course, all women are vulnerable to rape. Lesbians can unintentionally get pregnant, and some do.
But most don’t. Most lesbians will never personally need an abortion (though many have needed them before coming out). However, despite those facts, and despite being past menopause myself, I am still committed to, and adamant about, defending every woman’s right to control her own body.
Lesbians may not have been noticing it, but around the country, that bedrock SCOTUS decision is being chipped away in bigger and bigger hunks, leaving less and less of it solidly protecting our rights.
These actions add up to systemic misogyny – and that affects all women, including lesbians.
For example, Florida, where I live, recently passed the most repressive anti-choice legislation of any state outside of Texas. I am outraged, not because I or a close friend might need an abortion, but because we need equality and freedom. The right to control our own wombs and reproduction is part of a bigger set of human rights that are far from assured, even in the West, even in Australia, the US, and Canada.
This coming U.S. presidential election is one of the most important in my long-lived lifetime. Most of the Republicans’ views on abortion are reprehensible. Trump has even asked to have abortion banned, and women who violate the ban “punished.” Scratch them off the list.
But of the two Democratic contenders, only Hillary has mentioned the whole Planned Parenthood in the debates. And only Hillary has known the vulnerability, the importance, and the experience of being pregnant.
In every race, national and local, abortion is one way or another on the ballot. We, even lesbians in our post-reproductive years, need to consider the abortion views of every candidate on every ballot, from U.S. President to school board member. Threats to abortion rights come from all angles, so the support has to, too. Even, and especially, from lesbians have a responsibility to support our sisters and ourselves in keeping abortion safe and legal.