What’s at stake for women in this election?

here's my plan for the next four years: here's a perspective. when women 's issues dominated the debate a flashback for when the women marched for equal rights amendment led by gloria stein nen. on this final day of the campaign what have women lost and won, joining me now gloria steinen. thank you so much.

>> no, thank you.

>> i remember covering the marches back in the day and when we were talking about the equal rights amendment and other issues and here we are, let me play for you a little bit of the most celebrated infamous sound from two of the senate races.

>> if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. let's assume maybe that didn't work or something, you know, i think there should be some punishment but it ought to be on the rapist.

>> i struggled with it for myself but i realized life is that gift from god and even when life begins in that horrible situation of rain that it is something that god intended to happen.

>> controversial because here we are in this day and age, talking about rape in this fashion and these are two candidates, millions of dollars have been poured both into both of those races in the last five days, so these are races that could tip either way . what have we learned?

>> well, we've learned that what we remember as the republican party has been taken over by extremists, economic and religious extremists like the invasion of the body snatchers . so a party that used to support the equal rights amendment , goldwater was pro choice , now this is what i think is confusing especially to older women who remember when it was centrist and now it is extremist. it's become like the american taliban . and that's how we got mitt romney . whatever he really believes, he is going along with everything they believe.

>> well, he would say he is a more moderate candidate, certainly more moderate in his views. he supports exceptions now.

>> but he doesn't -- but that's what he says. but what is written down on paper at his request in the republican party platform is the human life amendment which would declare the fertilized egg to be a person and this would nationalize women 's bodies in effect and put all those decisions in the hands of the government. i mean he -- i don't -- i don't know what he believes, but he does have the most distance between what he puts down on paper and characterizes in public at least when talking to women .

>> our latest nbc news wall street journal poll the gender gap is only 8 points. in the past double digits. why do you think at least in our polling women are not as, you know, aligned with president obama , if what is at stake is as you've described it?

>> i spent a week in florida and i would say the biggest reason is that romney is not telling the truth. in fact. i mean he is staring women with the -- scaring women with the idea that over $50,000 of the national debt would be on the heads of each of their children and grandchildren without saying that debt would be increased by his military spending and that some of it you need to create jobs. he is not telling the truth about his reproductive rights policy. he is -- here's the most sinister thing, he's referring to women 's issues as social issues and men's issues, at least the 1% of guys he's concerned about, as economic issues. but, in fact, equal pay is a huge economic stimulus this country needs and whether a woman can control when and whether to have children, is the single biggest element in her economic status, her education, her health, and how long she lives. and that is sort of dispensed as a social issue.

>> at the same time, the republican argument is economic issues determine the way people will vote, that women are affected by the economy.

>> yes, but the economy is us. half the country is us. hello. and whether or not dis disproportionately. he won't even support equal pay . the romney/ryan ticket does not -- this is the first time in history. that is an economic issue. it would lift families, millions of families out of poverty. it would be an economic stimulus to the whole economy, because those women are going to spend that money on families and create jobs. so his very categorization is wrong. i mean, you know, how can he say that equal pay is not an economic issue or that reproductive freedom is not an economic issue? calling it social is a way of dispensing with. it.

>> gloria steinham on the campaign