Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse

The abortion issue is the moral equivalent of the slavery issue in our time, and Rev. Walter Hoye is the William Wilberforce of our age. Wilberforce believed that God had set before him, "two great objects, the abolition of slavery and the reformation of manners." In our day, the two equivalent "great objects" are the abolition of abortion and the reformation of marriage. Like Wilberforce, Walter Hoye is absolutely committed to non-violence and to victory. The California Equal Rights Amendment is the vehicle for achieving the first "great object," the abolition of abortion, because it defines and clarifies personhood as the key concept. As an African-American, Rev. Walter Hoye knows that without personhood for every member of our species, we are all vulnerable.

In the immortal words of Dr. Seuss, "a person's a person, no matter how small." That is the message of this proposed legislation. I sincerely support Rev. Walter Hoye in his efforts to pass the California Equal Rights Amendment.

 — Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D., Founder and President, The Ruth Institute