Georgeann Murphy

Practical Humanism and the Will to Live

If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament.

3 May 2022
Demonstrators at the Supreme Court react to news that the Court is poised to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that the U.S. Constitution protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.
(photo by Francis Chung / E & E News / POLITICO)

Though often attributed to either Florynce Kennedy or Gloria Steinem, Steinem herself elaborated the provenance of this quotation in a 2006 Boston Globe interview:

“You know who said that? Years ago [1971], I was in a taxi in Boston or Cambridge. There was an old Irish woman taxi driver. Flo Kennedy, the civil rights activist, was my speaking partner at the time. We were sitting in the back talking about abortion and the taxi driver turned around and she said, ‘Honey, if men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament.’ And I’ve always been so sorry that I didn’t get her name.”

That taxi driver was spot on.

(Thanks to the good work of the Quote Investigator)

georgeannmurphy

One response to “If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament.”

  1. Francis Birch Avatar
    Francis Birch

    Georgeann,

    Hi! I just tried to see if there might be a protest in Portsmouth this week-end. I have gone to several in Portsmouth in the past years. I like them.—Good to be with people on the same wave-length

    Yes, I have heard that before.

    I was at the Khleif’s today and was in the kitchen talking with Noelle. As soon as I walked out of the kitchen Bud burst out, “We’re going back to Puritan times.” He was watching the news and totally understood what was going on. I was glad to see that. What a time!!

    Love, c

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