Roe v. Wade: 34 Years Later

Roe v. Wade. Few U.S. Supreme Court cases are so well known or incite such strong feelings, but then again, few Supreme Court cases have had such a profound and immediate impact on women in this country as did Roe v. Wade.

The ability to decide when and whether to become a parent is about as fundamental as it gets. But for most people Roe has been stripped of this meaning. It is no longer about parenthood or being able to control the direction of your life, free from government intrusion. It is about abortion politics, and picking sides of a rancorous debate.

And so on the 34th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade the ACLU is asking people to leave the rhetoric behind, and to think about the real-life impact reproductive rights has on your life.

To commemorate the anniversary the ACLU is launching a web feature today called "The World We Want." On our site you will find the ACLU's vision for reproductive rights as well as podcasts from Anthony Romero and Louise Melling discussing the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the ACLU's involvement in reproductive rights issues. A second podcast featuring Sondra Goldschein discusses how to start conversations with friends and family members about the impact of reproductive rights in their lives, and the site also has a discussion guide available to help you get such conversations started with your own friends and family. You'll also find a look ahead at this year's Congress. Finally, each day this week on this blog you'll hear from ACLU staff around the country about the world they want in their own neck of the woods.

I hope today will get you thinking about the importance of reproductive rights in your own life -- whether its contraception, sex education, abortion, or a host of other issues -- and join with the ACLU to work toward ensuring the world we want for everyone.