NOW DEFINES CRUCIAL ISSUES FOR WOMEN

There is was in the Aug. 13 Southeast Missourian: "Why I quit NOW: a look at feminism" by Sarah Bryan Miller. She writes what I have heard some complain of before, that NOW "has become too distanced from the realities of most women's lives."

I find that hard to believe, since most women will experience male violence against them at the hands of a boyfriend, husband or male family member. Violence against women remains one of the central issues of NOW, along with finding ways to combat it.

Most single women are going to exist in the cruelest of poverty. Those with college degrees will rise above this, but it is still unlikely they will live as monetarily comfortable as married women or women with access to male income. NOW is committed to working to ensure pay equity for all females.

Poor women's freedom of choice to safe, legal abortion appears always at risk from conservative politicians or religious fundamentalist thinking. NOW supports a woman's right to choose in such a personal matter, and its members are know to march and carry signs proclaiming "Choice."

Abortion doesn't end with tougher laws. It means poor women die again, as they used to before abortion was legal.

To better express what NOW is all about, I will quote directly from Missouri's NOW member handbook: "NOW's purpose is to take action to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society now, exercising all privileges and responsibilities thereof in true, equal partnership with men. This purpose includes, but is not limited to, equal rights and responsibilities in all aspects of citizenship, public service, employment, education and family life, and it includes freedom from discrimination because of age, marital status, sexual preference, parenthood, physical or mental disability, racial and ethnic origins."

There will always be many lacking true knowledge or what NOW and its members are fighting for. When attention is turned on the minority like Sarah Bryan Miller and when her disenchantment with NOW is reported, it adds fuel to the fire of critics. Miller's voice of disenchantment remains in the minority.

Most who are initially attracted to the fight for equality for all females will find NOW's policies in their best interests. It remains the definitive organization for women.

Karen Jo Roberts is a Cape Girardeau resident.