Polls Continue To Show An Unstable Presidential Campaign
He Is Who He Is
Obama Leads McCain In Frequent Flyer Miles
Lies Have Legs, Obama. Don't Let Them Go Unchallenged
Making The Pigs Squeal
A Way Back To The High Road?
Union Bosses Joyful Over Obama Lead
Mr. Obama, Welcome to the NFL!
Martha's Big Adventure - A Parental Guide to Grown Children
George Bush's Unrequited Love
No Credit Where Credit Is Due
Talking Veepstakes
The Next Time You Say, 'Bush Lied, People Died' -- Think
We Can, And Must, Help Gorilla Species Survive
Is Anyone Ready?
Tinseltown Transformations
Mccaffrey: We Can't Shoot Our Way Out Of Afghanistan
Forgetting The Evils of Communism
Hillary's Growing Shadow
Harper's Index
A Nation of Whiners? Perhaps
'Swing Vote': What It Tells Us About The '08 Race, And Why Obama Needs To Put Kevin Costner On His Ipod
Where Is The Outrage?
The Real Competition In China
The Old Guy's Technical Foul
No Name For The River
Do Democrats Want Obama To Be Another 'War President'?
Pelosi: Save the Planet, Let Someone Else Drill
Obama Supports Union Ploy To Drop Secret Ballots
Birth Control: The New Pollutant
Rustling Up Some Bovine Love
The Mccain-Obama Kabuki On Race
What America's Daughters Need To Know About Nancy Pelosi
Al Gore Has Big Ideas But He's Not Running
Bad Economy May Hurt Obama
Septalingualism: The New Language Of New Yorkers
Cartoon Character
Change We Can Believe In
Can McCain Back In Again?
Obama Hasn't Closed The Deal Yet
No Celebrating Others' Misfortune
Barack Obama's Naive Berlin Speech -- Part Two
Whatever Happened To The Straight Talk Express?
Regulation without Representation
Fight or Die
Call In The Civilians
The Shame Of Postville
Free The Oil -- And Other Slick Tricks
Weapons Too Dangerous For Others
New Generation, New Kind of Daddy
Obama Should See This Play
The Great Garet Garrett -- Interview with Bruce Ramsey
Death of A Prophet
Blind Defense of Koran Abrogates Reality
The Rhinoceros in the Room ... RACE
Sacramento Dreaming Again
A Regrettable Retirement



Susan Estrich
NARAL's Choice
Susan Estrich 5/16/2008
Digg This Story!
Del.icio.us Reddit StumbleUpon Yahoo! MyWeb Technorati Google Bookmarks Furl Ma.gnolia Newsvine Bloglines Rojo Facebook
A few years ago, the National Abortion Rights Action League, as it was then called, or NARAL for short, changed its name to NARAL Pro-Choice America. The idea, as I understood it, was to put the emphasis on "choice" rather than "abortion." This week, the organization announced its own choice in the Democratic primary contest, and as best as I can tell, it had absolutely nothing to do with preserving abortion rights and everything to do with their own sense of self-importance. Many women I know who have given generously of their time and efforts and money to the organization over the years are furious, and I don't blame them.

If the issue is choice, and it should be for NARAL Pro-Choice America, there is absolutely no reason to prefer Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton. There's no reason to assume he will stand taller when it comes to legislative efforts to limit abortion rights or outlaw particular procedures. There's no reason to believe that he will appoint judges who will be more sympathetic to Roe v. Wade or more understanding of the plights of the poor, the young, of women from rural areas and those serving in the military (or married to men who
are) and those who discover late in their pregnancies that the babies they very much wanted cannot survive. These are, of course, the women who have been targeted successfully by anti-abortion groups in recent years both in the legislatures, state and federal, and in the courts and for whom access to abortion is an abstract promise rather than a constitutionally guaranteed right. These are the women who should be the focus of all the energy, clout and attention a group such as NARAL Pro-Choice America has. That's the very reason the group exists.

But clearly, that wasn't enough for the leadership of NARAL. They wanted to be players in the presidential game. So they made a choice between two candidates who differ not at all on abortion rights, choosing to make themselves look important on a day when, having taken a thumping in West Virginia from precisely the sort of women NARAL should represent, Barack Obama was looking for friends to send a message to Hillary Clinton and the media that West Virginia didn't matter and that it was time for her to exit the race.

"What does NARAL get from Obama?" some of my friends keep asking me.

Add Feed to ZapTXT Add Feed to Bloglines Add Feed to Technorati Add Feed to LibWorm! Add Feed to My Yahoo! Add Feed to Google Add Feed to Newsgator Add Feed to Rojo Add Feed to Windows Live Add Feed to My MSN
The Debate on Abortion
By Angel Boligan - Cagle Cartoons, El Universal, Mexico City * Posted 02/07/2008
Post to MySpace!
Comment
Email
The Debate on Abortion
© Copyright 2008  Angel Boligan - All Rights Reserved.

Posted By: K. Jones  on Saturday, May 17, 2008

It sounds like this writer is upset. Maybe some of those Obama supporters should have been Hillary supporters so that she could have continued to suck on her warm bottle of milk.

Posted By: Chris  on Saturday, May 17, 2008

NARAL did what any smart organization does in an election year.  It goes with the candidate who can do the most for it's members.  No matter what Ms. Estrich, or the other disappointed women of NARAL think, the fact is that Obama will more than likely be the next president of the United States of America.  Hillary will be a senator from New York and if she continues acting the way she has been, she'll have considerably less clout as she continues to anger the party apparatus.

Ms. Estrich mentions HRC's long and meritous service in the cause of Woman's Rights, and I hope everyone gives her a great big "Atta Girl!" and let her know that it's appreciated.  However, NARAL's endorsement will remind President Obama (God willing!) how important the pro-choice movement is to the Democratic party and to the Progressive policies he champions, and look for him to consider such issues when it's time to appoint judges.

Posted By: mb  on Sunday, May 18, 2008

Obama and HRC do differ in their abortion stances.  HRC supported BAIPA (Born Alive Infants Protection Act) while Obama and Michelle didn't.&nb