A Better Sexual Deal

I know that the situation is changing. Young women to-day are resisting the conditioning their mothers had to succumb to. They expect a better deal in sexual matters, especially since the pill was introduced. But we have to remember that many women's lives have been irreparably damaged; they have never been able to enjoy sex. Sex has become an oppressive part of their lives. Many more women will be in the same plight if we don't break down all the barriers now.

These women must be shown that it is in their interest to support abortion, not oppose it. They must be made to realise that establishing women's right to choose about abortion means a great deal. It means establishing women's right not just to sex, but to sexual enjoyment It means we can undercut the whole set-up which messed us up in the first place; the conditioning of women to dislike sex so that they won't get pregnant before marriage, thus undermining the family system. When women are free of the punishment for sex - the fear of having an unwanted child - they will be able to think about their own sexuality and how, if it isn't repressed, it can enrich their lives. Most importantly, winning the repeal of the abortion laws will mean recognising women as people, with a right to decide the course of our lives. It will give us the dignity we are denied while we are always vulnerable to unwilled childbirth. It will challenge our passive role, which has led to acceptance of discrimination against our sex.