Notorious R.B.G. explains why abortion will never be illegal for rich women [View all]

[KamaAina]

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/228713/notorious-r-b-g-explains-why-abortion-will-never-be-illegal-for-rich-women/

This Sunday, The New Republic’s Jeffrey Rosen published an interview with the notorious, glorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg. While the whole thing is worth a read, and she discussed a wide range of topics from her internet fame to her least favorite Supreme Court decision (Citizens United) to Jazzercise–she also weighed in on one thing that no one says enough–that abortion is, above all, a class issue.

When asked what she thought would happen if Roe v. Wade were overturned, Justice Ginsburg explained that it would have essentially no impact on women of enough means to travel in order to obtain an abortion. Even if it were overturned, it would still remain legal in most states, and women in the states where it was illegal, if they had enough money, could just go to another state to get one. That option would not be there for poor women. Hell, even if it were illegal throughout the United States, women with enough money could just go to Canada....

What she didn’t mention, however, is that the fact that rich women will always have access to abortion is a large reason why so many politicians find it so easy to oppose Roe v. Wade and to create ridiculous restrictions on abortion. They know damn well it’s not ever going to affect them if they or their daughters are ever in need of one. They know it’s not going to be them or their daughters on the wrong end of a coat hanger, or dying from any other kind of illegal, unsafe abortion. They don’t even have to consider what life without Roe v. Wade might be like for them or someone they love, because it simply would not apply to them. If Rick Perry made abortion illegal in Texas, and his daughter needed to have one, she would have the means to jump on a plane to wherever, and get one, easy as pie.

Even right now, all the restrictions on abortion in Texas and elsewhere only affect women with limited means. It’s a lot harder for a poor woman to take days off of work in order to travel to an area in the state where there is a clinic than it is for a woman with money.