Marlene Gerber Fried

About the author: Marlene Gerber Fried is an activist with the Reproductive Rights Network and the National Network of Abortion Funds. She is also the director of the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program at Hampshire College.

Before abortion was made legal, thousands of women died each year from complications associated with back-alley abortions. Roe v. Wade protected women's right to a safe, legal abortion; however, that right is currently threatened by abortion opponents, whose violent methods of protest have created a climate in which women fear to have abortions and doctors fear to provide them. Unobstructed access to abortion is an important aspect of any human rights, feminist, and social justice agenda.

The 25th anniversary of Roe v. Wade produced a media barrage of articles, television, movies, talk shows and opinion polls...