Fifty Million
If you were at Netroots Nation, you heard Darcy Burner remind us that one in three woman in America will have an abortion at some point in their lives. Given a population in excess of 300 million, half of which are female, that is something over fifty million.
You experienced her quietly asking women in the audience if they were comfortable to stand and acknowledge having had an abortion. As Digby, John and Howie and the Leadership of Blue America put it in an email that went out yesterday, reflecting a post on their site,
You experienced her quietly asking women in the audience if they were comfortable to stand and acknowledge having had an abortion. As Digby, John and Howie and the Leadership of Blue America put it in an email that went out yesterday, reflecting a post on their site,
One by one at first, and finally all at once, women throughout that huge crowd, in front of all their peers and friends, stood up. That's not an easy thing to do in this culture, even among friends. The right has made it a dishonorable, solitary act, borne in silence, subject to fear and social stigma.But then Darcy did more. Quoting again from the Blue America email,
she asked all of those who supported those women to stand up. Everyone in the room came to their feet. There was no sustained applause and no celebration, just a simple public acknowledgement of solidarity and sincere support for the women in all of our lives who have made this choice.The meaning of this is simple, quoting again
This is the essence of leadership --- a candidate for office taking a stand on one of the most