Gloria Steinem Quotes

Reproductive freedom is a fundamental human right. We therefore oppose government interference in the reproductive decisions of Americans.

Reproductive choice is a fundamental human right and we can never take it for granted. On this issue, you're either with us or against us.

There is nothing more fundamental than the idea that the government does not have a right to decide when and whether we have children.

The Constitution protects individual decisions in matters of childbearing from unjustified intrusion by the state ….The right to privacy in connection with decisions affecting procreation extends to minors as well as adults.

No one should tell a woman she has to bear an unwanted child.

We recognized ‘the right of the individual, married or single, to be free from unwarranted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the decision whether to bear or beget a child.’ That right necessarily includes the right of a woman to decide whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.

In America, access to birth control is controlled by those who never use it.

If you want to control human reproduction you have to control women’s bodies.

Woman must have her freedom; the fundamental freedom of choosing whether or not she shall be a mother and how many children she will have. Regardless of what man's attitude may be, that problem is hers; and before it can be his, it is hers alone.

Margaret Sanger didn't just introduce the idea of birth control into our culture at large, she freed women from indenture to their bodies.

The so-called right to reproduce is not an unlimited right.

It is not because woman is lacking in responsibility, but because she has too much of the latter that she demands to know how to prevent conception.

We never use the phrase population control. It has an implication of coercion.

Birth control is the first important step woman must take toward the goal of her freedom. It is the first step she must take to be man’s equal. It is the first step they must both take toward human emancipation.

Reproductive freedom is critical to a whole range of issues. If we can't take charge of this most personal aspect of our lives, we can't take care of anything. It should not be seen as a privilege or as a benefit, but a fundamental human right.

Is it a recent occurrence that women have tried to control when and if they reproduced? Absolutely not. By 2000 B.C., there was worldwide use of herbal potions to prevent pregnancy. Condoms were made from animal bladders.

The abortion controversy is important for what it says about our stance toward procreation and children altogether.

The biggest obstacle was mixing abortion with overpopulation. These are two things that have nothing to do with each other.

Just as the Supreme Court has said that women have the right to choose whether or not to be parents, men should also have that right.

I don't mean to be trite about abortion, but I do feel it's a woman's body, and I don't think anyone should take away her choice of having or not having a child.

Personally, I'd be really glad to have a national conversation about whether to outlaw most forms of birth control. For once, the kids and their grandparents would find themselves on the same side.

Choice is a uniquely female issue. We don't share the same reproductive systems.

The emphasis must not be on the right to abortion but on the right to privacy and reproductive control.

We support reproductive rights and will stand with women and men around the country to support keeping abortion and birth control safe, legal and accessible.

We acknowledge the freedom of each individual to advocate for a public policy on abortion that reflects his or her beliefs.