a pro-life feminist is a happy feminist
FFL was here last night. big thanks to fred for going with me. the rest of you can go fjdsanm.
i don't think i've ever fully explained the organization on here. so i'm gonna kind of recap what sally winn said last night. as i'm pretty sure i've said before, the original feminist mothers were all staunchly pro-life. mary wollstonecraft, elizabeth cady stanton and susan b. anthony all referred to abortion in the most critical terms. sarah norton, the first woman to be admitted to cornell (by fighting her way in), said that 'child murderers practice their profession without let or hindrance, and open infant butcheries unquestioned'. so until the 1960s, the women's movement did not embrace abortion rights. the women who were abolitionists and suffragists were also pro-lifers.
hmmmm, so how did abortion rights become the focus of second wave feminism in the 60s? the way all bad things happen: two men. (i'm kidding, we're nice non-man hating feminists.) but two men really did introduce the idea to the leaders of the women's movement, specifically betty friedan. larry lader, who had a fear of overpopulation, and bernard nathanson, who had seen a botched abortion, had been fighting vigorously to repeal anti-abortion laws.
nobody would listen to them in state legislatures, so they started looking for a bigger name to attach themselves to. they told the women that they could achieve equal pay, or even a living wage; job and education opportunities; entrance into the man's world. the catch? you have to be willing and able to forfeit the one thing that really sets you apart from a man: babies. all that pesky asking for time off because of morning sickness or because you need to squeeze one out just holds you back. they told women that they have to change themselves to fit into society. what we really need is to change society to accept us. we're women. we have babies. get over it.
but i got off subject for a second. friedan wasn't convinced by that argument alone. they made up a statistic to sway her. yes, they pulled it out of thin air. they told her that 10,000 women died each year from illegal abortion. so that's how second wave feminism embraced abortion rights.
NOW currently tells me that abortion is 'the most fundamental right of women, without which all other rights are meaningless'. that's funny. i didn't know i had to have access to abortion in order to maintain my rights to vote, own property, be protected from marital rape, or be able to maintain custody of my children in a divorce. i guess all those women who were smart enough to know that i deserved those rights were actually had no clue what true equality is about.
thanfully, the new feminist leaders are smart enough to make sure i have a free choice. like at yale, where they provide 3 free abortions to students but no prenatal care in their medical coverage. nice free choice.
i know most of you quit reading 3 paragraphs ago, so i'll cut my ramblings short. if you want more info about the injustices of abortion, visit www.feministsforlife.org
i don't think i've ever fully explained the organization on here. so i'm gonna kind of recap what sally winn said last night. as i'm pretty sure i've said before, the original feminist mothers were all staunchly pro-life. mary wollstonecraft, elizabeth cady stanton and susan b. anthony all referred to abortion in the most critical terms. sarah norton, the first woman to be admitted to cornell (by fighting her way in), said that 'child murderers practice their profession without let or hindrance, and open infant butcheries unquestioned'. so until the 1960s, the women's movement did not embrace abortion rights. the women who were abolitionists and suffragists were also pro-lifers.
hmmmm, so how did abortion rights become the focus of second wave feminism in the 60s? the way all bad things happen: two men. (i'm kidding, we're nice non-man hating feminists.) but two men really did introduce the idea to the leaders of the women's movement, specifically betty friedan. larry lader, who had a fear of overpopulation, and bernard nathanson, who had seen a botched abortion, had been fighting vigorously to repeal anti-abortion laws.
nobody would listen to them in state legislatures, so they started looking for a bigger name to attach themselves to. they told the women that they could achieve equal pay, or even a living wage; job and education opportunities; entrance into the man's world. the catch? you have to be willing and able to forfeit the one thing that really sets you apart from a man: babies. all that pesky asking for time off because of morning sickness or because you need to squeeze one out just holds you back. they told women that they have to change themselves to fit into society. what we really need is to change society to accept us. we're women. we have babies. get over it.
but i got off subject for a second. friedan wasn't convinced by that argument alone. they made up a statistic to sway her. yes, they pulled it out of thin air. they told her that 10,000 women died each year from illegal abortion. so that's how second wave feminism embraced abortion rights.
NOW currently tells me that abortion is 'the most fundamental right of women, without which all other rights are meaningless'. that's funny. i didn't know i had to have access to abortion in order to maintain my rights to vote, own property, be protected from marital rape, or be able to maintain custody of my children in a divorce. i guess all those women who were smart enough to know that i deserved those rights were actually had no clue what true equality is about.
thanfully, the new feminist leaders are smart enough to make sure i have a free choice. like at yale, where they provide 3 free abortions to students but no prenatal care in their medical coverage. nice free choice.
i know most of you quit reading 3 paragraphs ago, so i'll cut my ramblings short. if you want more info about the injustices of abortion, visit www.feministsforlife.org
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home