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The Issues That Matter
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10788 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
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3 / 1993 |
3,215 Words |
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Cathy Young
Cathy Young is author of Growing Up in Russia. |
Of the social issues confronting America in the next four years, none strike a deeper chord than relations between the sexes and changing gender roles. Sexual harassment, domestic violence, women in the military, abortion, balancing work and family--all these are both intensely personal and sharply political questions.
During his campaign, Bill Clinton made a strong commitment to the feminist agenda, proclaiming "a new gender of leadership" as a part of his vision. The first U.S. president to have a wife with her own career, Clinton is seen as attuned to the concerns of modern-day working women. But in some cases--as with his mostly male cabinet appointments--the high hopes he had raised among feminist groups led to early disappointment and recriminations.
Not all American women speak in the same voice, and many would disagree on what constitutes "women's issues". However, some of the most visible and controversial issues of the present and the near future are clearly of special interest to women--whether feminist, traditionalist, or neither.
Abortion rights
The reversals of the "gag rule" that forbids federally funded clinics to discuss abortion with patients and of the ban on abortions at army hospitals for military personnel overseas are only the beginning of the impact the Clinton administration will have on abortion policy in America.
In its rulings of the recent years (Webster v. Mississippi, Planned Parenthood v. Casey), the Supreme Court has upheld state restrictions on abortion such as 24-hour waiting periods, mandatory counseling, fetal viability tests in late abortions, and parental notification for minors; however, it stopped short of overturning the Roe v. Wade decision, which made abortion a constitutional right. Any hopes on the part of right-to-life advocates of putting more Roe opponents on the high court to ensure a future decision giving states near-total latitude to regulate abortion have been dashed by the election of Bill Clinton, who has pledged to appoint pro-choice judges.
This defeat of the pro-life forces in the legal arena is likely to be compounded by the passage of the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). The bill, which would have been headed for a certain veto under George Bush and which Clinton is expected to sign, is intended not only to protect the right to abortion but to nullify the state restrictions
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