because i cannot know what is best for anyone but me (and even that's tough sometimes)

Last week the Supreme Court made a historic decision to uphold a ban on "partial-birth abortions" (a purposefully scary and inaccurate name). This decision received relatively little attention but make no mistake: THIS IS HUGE.

Taking away the right to choice (as has already been done in many states) is not just sexist, but racist and classist as well. This is not a simple issue by any means. But if you wouldn't want total strangers forcing you on how to make the most important decisions in your life, you can understand the need for this right.

This commentary on the Supreme Court decision and what we can do about it (from the National Organization for Women) is helpful. And scary.

The fact that there is no exception allowed for the health of the mother is the key. That issue is what has turned previous cases the other way - the courts have said there must be a provision for maternal health as there are (often!) cases in which this procedure is medically necessary to protect a woman's health or life. This time around, the court (and it's new hand-picked anti-abortion justices) decided that the health of the mother doesn't matter. No matter what the situation, even if the woman might die without this procedure, it is no longer available to her.

Forget "right to choose." How about "cruel and unusual punishment"?

Tomorrow - Wednesday, April 25 - is National Call-In Day for the Freedom of Choice Act, which has been proposed in response to this historic shift in the Supreme Court. Three years ago on this date over a million people (including yours truly) marched on Washington to declare our passionate support for the rights and health of women. Now we need to tell Washington again, even louder, that we demand those rights, and that if President Bush insists on undermining them through the (supposedly independent) judiciary (as he explicitly promised supporters in exchange for their votes), we will insist on preserving them through other means.

The Freedom of Choice Act bill number (all bills in Congress have a number code) is H.R. 1964 in the House and S. 1173 in the Senate.

Please call your senators and representatives tomorrow. The number is:

202-224-3121

Tell them "I want the Senator/Representative to know that I strongly support the Freedom of Choice Act and I hope s/he will support its passage."

That's all you have to say! See how easy it is to change the world?