Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
Edward AbbeyRead
Abolition of a woman's right to abortion, when and if she wants it, amounts to compulsory maternity: a form of rape by the State.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that forcing a woman to carry a pregnancy to term against her will is equivalent to state-sanctioned violation of her autonomy.
Edward Abbey's quote argues that the denial of a woman's right to choose an abortion is a violation of her bodily autonomy and can be likened to state-imposed coercion. He draws a parallel between compulsory maternity and rape, suggesting that the imposition of such a requirement by law strips women of their rights and reduces them to mere vessels for reproduction, undermining their freedom and personhood.
Themes
AbortionWoman'S RightsBodily AutonomyFreedomState Coercion
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about reproductive rights during a women's rights conference.
More from Edward Abbey
All quotes βI love America because it is a confused, chaotic mess - and I hope we can keep it this way for at least another thousand years. The permissive society is the free society.
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If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.
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The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow's reality.
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I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
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Why can't we simply borrow what is useful to us from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, especially Zen, as we borrow from Christianity, science, American Indian traditions and world literature in general, including philosophy, and let the rest go hang? Borrow what we need but rely principally upon our own senses, common sense and daily living experience.
Edward AbbeyRead
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