An older man who seems to be the leader of the Jesus Shirt group says that the Bible forbids abortion in its commandment “Thou shall not kill.” But being in the Bible Belt, people really know their Bible, and an older woman cites Exodus 21:22–23, a passage that says a man who causes a pregnant woman to miscarry must pay a fine but is not charged with murder, not unless the woman herself dies.Thus, the Bible is making clear, that a dependent life is not the same as an independent life.

— Gloria Steinem

I was too selfish to have a child before I was ready for one, and there's no shame in admitting that. Women should be selfish about our choices, for as long as we have the privilege of being selfish. Selfishness in women isn't the great crime that people like to pretend it is. We are as entitled as men to prioritize ourselves and our desires, and we are as capable as men of knowing what's best for us. Why is everyone so pathologically terrified of selfish women? The word is thrown around like an insult, as if the worst thing a woman could possibly do (aside from being fat, having sex with whomever she pleases and whenever, swearing, having an abortion, drinking alcohol, standing up for herself and being a working mother) is to decide that her life matters. But women are allowed to be selfish. It shouldn't be considered a 'privilege' to be able to control our own bodies nor should it be treated like a favor done to us by the state. It's a right that, by and large, has been stolen from us and used to keep us in thrall to a paternalistic body that pretends to know what's best for us but is really only interested in maintaining the order that has proved best for them.

— Clementine Ford

Millions of deaths would not have happened if it weren’t for the consumption of alcohol. The same can be said about millions of births.

— Mokokoma Mokhonoana

No matter what men think, abortion is a fact of life. Women have always had them; they always have, and they always will. Are they going to have good ones or bad ones? Will the good ones be reserved for the rich, while the poor women go to quacks?

— Shirley Chisholm

The part of you that's like Gob is the part that makes a choice. That says, I choose to. Or, I choose not to. That's what's sacred.

— Willie Parker

The "right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" begins with "life", and "life" begins at conception.

— A.E. Samaan

Why must the woman apologize for not having a baby just because she happened to get pregnant? It's as if we think motherhood is the default setting for a woman's life from first period to menopause, and she needs a note from God not to say yes to every zygote that knocks on her door.

— Katha Pollitt