Gloria Steinem: Abortion a ‘Profoundly Moral Decision’ and Women Need to Talk About It

“Every child has a right to be born loved and wanted. And a woman who decides that this is not the moment when she can provide that for a child is making, to me, a profoundly moral decision,” Gloria Steinem tells Yahoo Global Anchor Katie Couric in this exclusive interview.

Steinem, 81, has been fighting for abortion rights for nearly her entire life, after taking up the cause in her early 20s. And the celebrated feminist leader speaks from experience — she dedicated her most recent book, My Life On The Road, to John Sharpe, the doctor who helped her get an abortion in 1957.

An intense abortion debate has emerged on the eve of the 2016 elections after the release of widely discredited undercover “sting” videos taken by an antiabortion activist group over the summer, but Steinem shows no sign of backing down.

“All change I think comes from telling the truth,” says Steinem. “We have changed our feelings about gay and lesbian and transgender Americans because people have told the truth about their lives and we’ve discovered that we love each other and know each other.”

At a time when sharing your abortion story is still revolutionary, Steinem tells Couric that telling the truth, and telling your story, is the only way to create lasting change. “One in three American women has needed an abortion at some time in her life. If we were open about it and talked about it, it would help enormously to explain how important it is.”

Watch Katie Couric’s full interview with the feminist legend here.

Read This Next: A Teen Just Attacked a Planned Parenthood with a Hatchet — Why We Need to Pay Attention