The XX Factor: Slate women blog about politics, etc...



  • Whether Your Name is Palin or Larimore, Coercion Is Not Choice


    Rachael,

    Thank you for the moving story about your origins. Your parents rock! I just want to point out, though, that when your mothers' relatives were trying to coerce your mother into an abortion, they were trying to overrule her choice. Outlawing abortion is similarly coercive, since it forces a woman to carry to term, whether she wants to or not. Either one is the opposite of choice.

    In unrelated news, when I broke things off with a woman I was dating last year—the first woman I'd mentioned to my family after I left my partner of 19 years—my father was very disappointed. He had metastatic cancer and wanted to see me settled with someone before he died. (Sorry, dad.) But he took a deep breath and said, "Well, just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you have to get married."

    The joke was on him. I'm pretty sure I'm too old to get pregnant. 

    EJ

Browse by Tags

Sorry, but there are no more tags available to filter with.
Print This ArticlePRINT Discuss in the FrayDISCUSS
<January 2009>
SMTWTFS
28293031123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
1234567
Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum
What did you think of this article?
POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES

Syndication