We Have Had Abortions

That was the headline of a petition in the 1972 debut issue of Ms. magazine in which 53 well-known U.S. women declared that they had undergone abortions -- despite state laws rendering the procedure illegal. Even then, to many it seemed absurd that the government could deny a woman sovereignty over her own body. It is even more absurd in 2006 that an abortion ban has passed into law in South Dakota, though it has been stayed because an initiative to remove the ban has been placed on the state's November ballot.

It's time for a new petition for honesty and freedom.

Today Ms. is starting a new petition and are inviting you to join Ms. in a campaign for honesty and freedom. You can read the full petition here.

Just as in 1972, Ms. will send the signed petitions to the White House, members of Congress and state legislators. If a multitude of women would step forward publicly – and more and more would continue to join them – we would change the public debate.

It is time to speak out again – in even larger numbers – and to make politicians face their neighbors, influential movers and shakers, and yes, their family members. We cannot, we must not – for U.S. women and the women of the world – lose the right to safe and accessible abortion or access to birth control.