Abortion access divides along class lines, not just legality.

Evidence

The seriousness of this ordeal varies a great deal depending on the circumstances. The conventionally married woman or one comfortably provided for, supported by a man, having money and relations, is better off: first, she finds ways to have a “therapeutic” abortion much more easily; if necessary, she has the means to pay for a trip to Switzerland, where abortion is liberally tolerated; gynecology today is such that it is a benign operation when performed by a specialist with all hygienic guarantees and, if necessary, anesthetic resources; failing official approval, she can find unofficial help that is just as safe: she has the right addresses, she has enough money to pay for conscientious care, without waiting until her pregnancy is advanced; she will be treated respectfully; some of these privileged people even maintain that this little accident can be beneficial to one’s health and improve the complexion. On the other hand, there is little distress more pathetic than that of an isolated and penniless girl who sees herself ensnared in a “crime” to erase a “fault” that people around her consider unpardonable: in France this is the case of approximately 300,000 women employees, secretaries, students, workers, and peasants; illegitimate motherhood is still so terrible a stain that many prefer suicide or infanticide to being an unmarried mother: proof that no punishment will ever stop them from “getting rid of the infant.” — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1424

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s own ‘On Sacrifice’ piece — the calculus of women choosing death or infanticide over social shame echoes sacrificial logics; also resonates with contemporary abortion-access debates. — connects to: Women’s class loyalties fragment them more than shared sex unites them. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 277; Ideology masks class by fragmenting people into individuals bound as consumers and citizens
• SEED: The 300,000 figure and the class stratification of ‘therapeutic’ abortion vs. criminal desperation could anchor an essay on how legality is always mediated by money and address books.

Broader Connections

• Women’s class loyalties fragment them more than shared sex unites them. #corroborates (0.80) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 277
• Ideology masks class by fragmenting people into individuals bound as consumers and citizens #expands (0.75)