Do you think younger women take Roe v. Wade and abortion rights for granted?
A. It’s natural for people of all ages and all circumstances to take for granted what they have not experienced. At the time we were working on Roe v. Wade, everybody knew someone who had been to get an illegal abortion, and all the problems associated with that. The doctors in public hospitals in Texas and elsewhere were talking about what they called the “IOB wards”— infected obstetrics wards—where they were trying to save women who had had self-abortion or illegal abortion. It was very much front-and-center for us. Q. Do you think Stupak was a wake-up call for young Americans? A. [Stupak] was a wake-up, a rally cry, because it revealed the strength of the opposition of people who say, “No, women should not have access to abortion, and any way we can cut it off, we’re going to do it.” When Stupak came out, you heard a national gasp, as those who are pro-choice saw what was happening. Q. How important are younger people in the fight for reproductive rights? A. I don’t think we have th
