One thing we know about the history of abortion in this country is that whether it is prosecuted or tolerated has less to do with the laws that are on the books and much more to do with prevailing social and political forces. The primary effect of anti-abortion laws is not to keep women from seeking abortions, but rather to make abortion unsafe. A more interesting question is: When, under what conditions, do reproductive rights come under attack? Today Mole Patricia Kullberg speaks with Judith Arcana about what interests are served by the repression of abortion rights. Judith Arcana is a poet, writer, reproductive rights activist and a Jane, a member of Chicago's pre-Roe underground abortion service. Judith is the author of many books, including Hello. This is Jane., a fiction collection that includes stories based on the Chicago underground.
Image by Charles Edward Miller, cemillerphotography.com via Creative Commons
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