Questions from "Because"

Does anybuddy remember the 1970s? When were you in school?

I graduated from high school in 1982, so I guess I'm about the same age as Anna and Cerise. I don't remember a lot about the 1970s, at least not until near the end. I do remember the controversy about the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) - which failed to be ratified by the extended deadline of June 1982. The women's movement, Roe v. Wade, and ERA are all important parts of U.S. history, and as a feminist, I have read widely about this period of time, even if I don't have a lot of personal memories of it.

Can you relate to either young woman's situation? Do you know someone who has lost a baby? Do you know someone who raised a child alone?

I have never personally experienced either Anna's or Cerise's circumstance. One of my sisters lost her first baby in 1999 - just weeks before my youngest child was born - in a situation similar to that of Anna's grandmother, and another sister lost her six-month-old adopted son to SIDS at the end of 2006, so I do have some sense of the story's feeling of loss. I can't think of anyone I know well who has raised a child alone without having been first married to the child's father, even if only briefly. My own mother raised seven daughters as a single parent, though, so I have a good frame of reference for some of Cerise's experience.

I may be opening a can of worms here, but what's your opinion about abortion?

On the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade (January 22, 2007), I wrote a post about my view that a woman's right to choice is non-negotiable. The post is titled "Both Pro-Life and Pro-Choice." I don't think I explain my viewpoint here any better than I did there, so please go check it out.