Gloria Steinem’s 1957 Abortion at 22 Shaped a Legacy of Reproductive Freedom
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 3
Gloria Steinem’s 1957 Abortion at 22 Shaped a Legacy of Reproductive Freedom
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 3
Summary
At 22 in 1957, Gloria Steinem sought an abortion in London after leaving her engagement and preparing to head to India on a fellowship.
That procedure was illegal in both the United States and Britain, but a doctor agreed to help her and urged her to do what she wanted with her life.
The opinion essay argues that experience helped define Steinem’s lifelong fight for reproductive freedom, including contraception access, legal abortion and support for women choosing when to have children.
Her death at 92 comes as that legacy is under strain: abortion is now banned entirely or almost entirely in 17 U.S. states, and the article cites rising medical harm after such restrictions.
As reproductive rights erode, will the underground networks of Gloria Steinem's youth become the new reality for millions of women today?
Can the coalition-building strategies that defined second-wave feminism successfully combat the modern crisis of maternal mortality and restricted medical care?
With doctors facing prison for life-saving care, how will the growing reliance on telehealth reshape the future of women's healthcare access?