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by Sarah Hudson, Western Canada Director for National Campus Life Network
(As printed in We Know Better Now, Canada Edition, 2009)
Support for abortion rights is generally believed to be a fundamental tenant of feminism. However, considering that feminism is founded on the larger principle that all human beings, including women, have innate worth, dignity and inalienable rights, abortion advocacy is, in fact, contrary to the very roots of feminism. During the early years of the feminist movement, women fought to be recognized as equal persons in society. Ironically, many self-proclaimed feminists now advocate against these same rights of a different group of human beings- the preborn.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an early prominent American feminist, once said, "When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit."1 Other famous American suffragists, including Susan B. Anthony2 and Alice Paul3, were strongly and vocally pro-life. They recognized that authentic feminism is based on the belief that the inherent worth of all human beings cannot be conferred or denied by someone else4. They rejected abortion because they rejected the notion of the powerful oppressing the weak and the use of violence to solve a problem. Supporting women's rights and opposing abortion upholds the consistent principle that every individual is deserving of respect.
Pro-abortion feminism has been damaging to women's empowerment. Most of these feminists frequently express a weak view of women with regard to the abortion decision. They insist that women should be shielded from the biological facts and moral issues surrounding abortion, implying that women are too fragile to handle the truth. A new misleading language has been adopted in order to distract women from the reality of abortion's impact on their mental and physical health and on what it does to their preborn babies. Phrases like "reproductive health," "products of conception," and "right to choose" are rhetoric that serve the purpose of covering up important facts deemed too "offensive" or "upsetting." This is a disservice to women, who have a right to know and the strength to deal with all the facts when facing a crisis pregnancy decision.
True feminism is about respecting women for their uniqueness, and this includes their unique ability to give life. When women feel they must undergo an invasive and traumatic "procedure" in order to be "equal" politically, socially and in the workplace--can we truly call this feminism? One feminist writer stated, "A woman wants an abortion as an animal caught in a trap wants to gnaw off its own leg."5 The need to abort in order to achieve "equality" does not liberate women. Instead, it implies that women must adopt the characteristics of men (who obviously cannot become pregnant) in order to compete in a man's world. Abortion is a symptom of sexism within our society--it is not the cure.
Abortion, in the final analysis, works to the advantage of the exploitative male.6 Abortion liberates men from sex without consequences and responsibility, under the guise of "support for women's rights."
By accepting abortion, women have accepted their own oppression. Feminists should be working for a society that supports the unique life-giving capacity of women by providing them with the resources they need and deserve, so that no woman feels driven to abortion. We should not settle for anything less.
"When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit." -Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Feminist
1 Letter to Julia Ward Howe, October 16, 1873, recorded in Howe's diary at Harvard University Library.¦2 The Revolution, 4(1):4 July 8, 1869.¦3 Author of the original US Equal Rights Amendment (1923) opposed the later trend of linking the ERA with abortion.¦4 "Abortion Does Not Liberate Women," Feminists for Life. www.feministsforlife.org.¦5 Frederica Mathewes-Green (contemporary writer and feminist) Policy Review Magazine.¦6 Feminist Susan Maronek, excerpted from Pro-life Feminism: Different Voices edited by Gail Grenier Sweet.