Radical abortion activist Gloria Steinem passed away on Wednesday, according to a statement issued yesterday by her representatives.

Steinem, who was 92, helped define the modern women’s movement and spent decades campaigning for unrestricted abortion. She was a regular guest on the major US television networks, where she strongly promoted abortion. She was also involved in numerous legal challenges and helped generate extensive coverage in high-end magazines and major media outlets, all with a view to furthering the pro-abortion agenda.

Her own abortion became a defining part of the story she told about her life. In 2013, then-US president Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Since the announcement of her passing yesterday, she has been widely feted by the international mainstream media, including here in Ireland, as a “champion of women’s rights”, a “trailblazing feminist icon”, a “staunch defender of reproductive rights” and “an inspiration to generations of women”.

But there is a real sadness behind all the tributes. Gloria Steinem devoted much of her adult life to a cause that results in an incalculable loss of life. It would be wonderful to think that she recanted her views on abortion towards the end of her life, but unfortunately there are no indications at this point that she did.