Naomi Wolf

About the author: Naomi Wolf, an adviser to President Bill Clinton on feminist issues, is the author of The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women, Fire with Fire: The New Female Power and How to Use It, and Promiscuities: The Secret Struggle for Womanhood.

Those who support legal abortion must reconsider the pro-choice notion that abortion is simply "a woman's choice." Instead, prochoice activists must acknowledge that abortion is a grave moral decision, but one that is sometimes necessary. Improved access to contraception is one step society can take to reduce the likelihood of abortion.

From a pro-choice point of view, things look grim. In March 1997 came accusations that abortion-rights advocates had prevaricated about how frequently "partial birth" or "intact dilation and evacuation" abortion is performed. Then the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to...