"Abortion" Missing from Obama's Roe Anniversary Statement

ACLU Blog of Rights: Really, Mr. President?, by Louise Melling:

I've just read the statement the president issued for the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that the right of privacy encompasses the decision of a woman to end a pregnancy. The statement includes many important sentiments. But, to me, it is most striking for what it fails to say: nowhere does the statement mention the word “abortion.”

We all know that abortion is an explosive political issue and that the president is addressing many audiences. But if we really support the right to privacy, and support women, and support the ability of our daughters to have the same rights as our sons, then the silence about abortion must end. The silence does nothing but add to the stigma that already surrounds abortion. It tells women — nearly one in three of whom will have an abortion in their life times — that what they did was unspeakable. It does little but embolden our already aggressive adversaries. . . .