Anti-abortion feminism
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Pro-life feminism is the opposition to abortion by a minority of feminists who believe that the principles which inform their support of women's rights also call them to support fetal rights. Pro-life feminists assert that abortion is not a necessary right, but has instead served to hurt women more than it has benefited them.
The most prominent pro-life feminist organizations in the United States include Feminists for Life (FFL) and the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List).
Overview
Pro-life feminists believe that the legal option of abortion "supports anti-motherhood social attitudes and policies and limits respect for women's citizenship".[1] When abortion is legal, "women come to see pregnancy and parenting as obstacles to full participation in education and the workplace."[1]
The tenets of pro-life feminism have been rejected by mainstream feminists who hold that "the moral and legal right to control her fertility remains a dominant feminist position."[1] Mainstream feminists still feel that, for full participation in society, the individual woman should be able to decide when and if she has children.[1] This conflicts with pro-life feminism which is against abortion at its foundation.[1] From their minority position, pro-life feminists assert that mainstream feminists do not speak for all women.[1]
Laury Oaks states that having failed to gain a respected position within traditional feminism,[1] pro-life feminists have aligned themselves with other anti-abortion, "right to life" groups. This placement sets them against the feminist movement, and erodes the sense of an identity separate from other pro-life groups, despite the pro-life feminist "pro-woman" arguments that are distinct from the "fetal rights" arguments put forward by others.[1]
Pro-life feminist organizations generally do not distinguish between views on abortion as a legal issue, abortion as a moral issue, and abortion as a medical procedure.[1] Such distinctions are made by many women, for example, women who would not abort their own pregnancies but would prefer that abortion remain legal.[1]
Prominent American pro-life feminist organizations seek to end abortion in the U.S. The SBA List states this as their "ultimate goal",[2] and FFL founder Serrin Foster said that FFL "opposes abortion in all cases because violence is a violation of basic feminist principles".[1][3]
At the same time, there are pro-life feminists who focus on making abortion obsolete by relieving its root causes at every level of society from the individual to the global—for example, from personally providing direct aid to pregnant women, adopting children with disabilities, campaigning for global access to antiretrovirals, and by advocating women's economic justice worldwide.[citation needed]
The opposition to abortion is not only held by outright prolife feminists, many mainstream or well known feminists such as Germaine Greer advocate a clear warning about abortion on demand.[4]
Religion
| This section possibly contains original research. (December 2010) |
The Catholic Church promotes "New feminism", a theology summarized in the encyclical letter Mulieris Dignitatem[5] (Latin for "On the Dignity of Woman") that promotes equal dignity for men and women while asserting there are biological differences that need to be taken into account. Some who identify as pro-life feminists are Catholics who advocate this theology. Some are dissenters from official Catholic doctrine on such matters as contraception and same-sex relationships.
Other pro-life feminists belong to the full spectrum of world religions, or identify as freethinkers, agnostics, or atheists. Pro-life feminists claim that pro-life feminism is a stance grounded in values of nonviolence and reverence for life, born and unborn, that can be and often are shared by people of all faiths and none.
19th century feminists
Feminist pro-life groups say they are continuing the tradition of 19th century women's rights activists such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Matilda Joslyn Gage who considered abortion to be an evil forced upon women by men.[6] In their newspaper, The Revolution, they published letters, essays and editorials debating many issues of the day, including articles decrying abortion as "child murder" and "infanticide."[6]
A dispute about Anthony's abortion views arose in the late 20th century: pro-life feminists in the U.S. began using Anthony's words and image to promote their pro-life cause. Others, including pro-choice activists, and scholars of 19th century American feminism countered what they considered a co-opting of Anthony's legacy as America's most dedicated suffragist, saying that the pro-life activists are falsely attributing opinions to Anthony and that applying words from the 19th century to the modern abortion debate is misleading.[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oaks, Laury (Spring 2009). "What Are Pro-Life Feminists Doing on Campus?" (PDF). Feminist Formations. 21 (1): 178–203. ISSN 1040-0656.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ "SBA List Mission: Advancing, Mobilizing and Representing Pro-Life Women". Susan B. Anthony List. 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
To accomplish our ultimate goal of ending abortion in this country...
- ^ The Nation. August 11, 2005. Katha Pollitt. Reproductive Rights. Feminists for (Fetal) Life: subject to debate. Retrieved on May 11, 2009.
- ^ Greer, Germaine. The Whole Woman. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1999. 91-100. Template:ISBN-13
- ^ Vatican. John Paul II, 1988. Mulieris Dignitatem, 'On the Dignity of Woman'
- ^ a b Kate O'Beirne, excerpt from 'Women Who Make the World Worse: and How Their Radical Feminist Assault Is Ruining Our Schools, Families, Military, and Sports' National Review January 23, 2006
- ^ Stevens, Allison (2006-10-06). "Susan B. Anthony's Abortion Position Spurs Scuffle". Women's eNews. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
Further reading
- The Cost of 'Choice': Women Evaluate the Impact of Abortion edited by Erika Bachiochi (2004, ISBN 1-59403-051-0)
- Prolife Feminism Yesterday & Today. Second & greatly expanded edition. Edited by Derr, Naranjo-Huebl, & MacNair (2005, ISBN 1-4134-9576-1)
- Prolife Feminism Yesterday & Today. edited by Derr, Naranjo-Huebl, and MacNair (1995, ISBN 0-945819-62-5)
- Pro-Life Feminism: Different Voices edited by Gail Grenier-Sweet (1985, ISBN 0-919225-22-5)
- Swimming Against the Tide: Feminist Dissent on the Issue of Abortion edited by Angela Kennedy (1997, ISBN 1-85182-267-4)
External links
- All Our Lives. (advocacy for nonabortion/abortion-reducing reproductive choices; global in scope)
- Feminism & Nonviolence Studies Association
- Feminists for Life
- Feminists Choosing Life of New York
