Feminists for Life

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Feminists for Life of America (FFL) is a non-sectarian, non-partisan, non-profit pro-life feminist organization established in 1972. The organization describes itself thus:

[FFL] seeks real solutions to the challenges women face. Our efforts are shaped by the core feminist values of justice, nondiscrimination, and nonviolence. Feminists for Life of America continues the tradition of early American feminists such as Susan B. Anthony, who opposed abortion.[1]
Feminists for Life of America recognizes that abortion is a reflection that our society has failed to meet the needs of women. We are dedicated to systematically eliminating the root causes that drive women to abortion—primarily lack of practical resources and support—through holistic, woman-centered solutions. Women deserve better than abortion."[2]

As these statements show, Feminists for Life believes that being pro-life is not only compatible with feminism, it is the natural conclusion of feminist values. Members and supporters of the organization frequently claim that being a pro-life feminist "is not an oxymoron, it's redundant". The president of the group, Serrin Foster, describes the organization as opposed to all forms of abortion, including those in case of rape, incest, birth defects, or to preserve the mother's life or health, which is broadly defined in the Supreme Court's Doe v. Bolton decision.[3]

In its broader vision, "FFL members oppose all forms of violence, including abortion, as they are inconsistent with the core feminist principles of justice, nonviolence and nondiscrimination."[4] Basic human rights, including the right to life, extend from conception (understood as the first formation of a human zygote) until the end of natural life, according to FFL.[5] Therefore, FFL is opposed to euthanasia,[6] infanticide,[7] and child abuse.[8] FFL does not take an official stance on contraception.[9]

Feminists for Life also seeks the traditional feminist goal of equality in the workplace.[10]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Background

Though Feminists for Life is only a few decades old, FFL professes to "stand on more than two hundred years of pro-life feminist history,"[2] continuing the tradition of early feminists such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Mary Wollstonecraft, Alice Paul, as well as many other early feminists who opposed abortion. "Without known exception," Feminists for Life president Serrin Foster said, "the early feminists condemned abortion in the strongest possible terms."[11]

One quote by Mattie Brinkerhoff[12] from a letter to the editor in The Revolution in particular appears on the inside front cover of almost every issue of FFL's magazine, The American Feminist: "When a man steals to satisfy hunger, we may safely conclude that there is something wrong in society—-so when a woman destroys the life of her unborn child, it is an evidence that either by education or circumstances she has been greatly wronged."[13]

[edit] Organization

Feminists for Life was founded in Ohio in 1972 by feminist activists Pat Goltz and Cathy Callaghan. Goltz and Callaghan met in a judo club on the campus of Ohio State University, where Callaghan was a tenured professor of linguistics. Goltz was expelled from the Columbus, Ohio, Chapter of the National Organization for Women ("NOW") in 1974 for arguing that abortion violated feminist principles. (National NOW declined to expel Ms. Goltz from the National organization.) Callaghan would later voluntarily opt out of NOW on account of the organization's continued adding of planks that were not women's issues.

Pat and Cathy were to discover that they were not alone, however; they met many other pro-life feminists who were treated similarly by women's organizations during the Women's Liberation Movement's second wave of expulsions (the first wave of expulsions had occurred a few years prior when lesbians were routinely expelled from NOW). In protest, Goltz and dozens of other pro-life feminists picketed the National NOW convention, hoping to draw attention to the controversy. The plan backfired, however, when most media sources failed to pick up the story, and the few that did only mentioned that the pickets were by a pro-life group, failing to convey the point that the protesters were trying to convey.

Pat later got a chance, however, to draw attention to the growing trend of pro-life feminism and hostility by the feminist establishment. While testifying before a Congressional panel in 1975, Ms Goltz stated, "The National Organization for Women suppresses any woman who is pro-life. It does not matter how sincere her feminism on the basic issues. I will give a few examples: California, 25 women excluded from the local NOW chapter—they rescheduled their meeting place and informed only the pro-abortion women. Oregon: the NOW newsletter denounced us as pretending to be feminists. Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York City: NOW members actively kick out pro-life members. Houston: NOW women who are pro-life successfully suppressed and isolated, from all over the country, not daring to speak out on abortion at all. Ohio: a pro-life NOW member denounced in public in the rotunda of the State House; the president of the chapter ordered her not to discuss abortion with any NOW member at any time or place. The NOW chapter refuses to sell advertising space to Feminists for Life, although the revenue is needed badly. Other feminist groups act likewise: Massachusetts women's liberation group, all 300 of them, kick out one pro-life member. Birthright chapters hassled all over the country by feminists. The League of Women Voters in some New England states orders their members to drop out of Right to Life. Altoona, Pannsylvania: the local NOW chapter tries to threaten any radio station which plays Seals and Crofts' 'Unborn Child' and succeeds. Other places where the song is suppressed include Boston and New York City." (Senate Testimony, 1975)

The newsletter, Sisterlife, was first published during Goltz' tenure as national president. Originally the Feminists for Life Journal, the newsletter got its unique name from a letter to Goltz by a member of the Canadian chapter of Feminists for Life, who instead of closing her letter with the customary "In Sisterhood," wrote "In Sisterlife." Sisterlife proved to be the perfect title for Feminists for Life's journal, reflecting their dedication to all sisterlife, from conception to natural death. After that the newsletter was officially name Sisterlife. In the early nineties during the organization's overhaul to appeal to younger women, the newsletter was re-formatted and re-named The American Feminist. It is still published quarterly as the organizations official journal. (See below)

Feminists for Life was active in the ten year battle to ratify the ill-fated Equal Rights Amendment. The organization's commitement to the E.R.A. started early on, during Goltz's presidency. Unlike Pat, Cathy Callaghan was not at first convinced of the need for the amendment, having been able to make it into the world as a woman and at the time was professor at Ohio State University. Callaghan, however, soon changed her mind about the E.R.A. upon the exortations of Goltz, who pointed out that "not all women have the brains she does, and not all women are capable of being two or three times as competent as a man to accomplish the same things a man is allowed to accomplish." In 1973, Goltz published an article (included in the anthology, Pro-Life Feminism: Yesterday and Today) disparaging the fact that the widespread fear of abortion on demand had blocked the ratification of E.R.A. in Ohio at the time, and that it would eventually kill the amendment's ratification.

Like many other feminist groups of the Women's Liberation Movement, Feminists for Life's drive for equality and social justice stemmed a great deal from the personal lives of many of its members. Many pro-life feminists had brushes with pregnancy discrimination, abortion, rape, child molestation, etc., stories about which they published in various journals, newsletters, and other publications. Many of these stories were included in the anthology, Pro-Life Feminism: Different Voices.

After five years as President of Feminists for Life, Goltz retired. In 1977, organizational management was moved to Wisconsin. The group's activities focused on being a presence at both pro-life and feminist events, distributing literature, and writing letters to various publications. A national workshop that became an annual conference for pro-life feminists was launched during this time. Many members supported both the Equal Rights Amendment and a Human Life Amendment as "complementary in their concern for human life."[14]

Feminists for Life's work for the Equal Rights Amendment was met with a great deal of resistance, including harassment of pro-life feminists at pro-E.R.A. demonstrations, when Feminists for Life members attempted to distribute Pro-Life/Pro-E.R.A. tracts. In the late 1970s, Goltz spoke with the legendary suffragist Alice Paul, who authored the original Equal Rights Amendment. Paul conveyed to Goltz her belief that abortion was inconsistent with feminism, and that many of the founding mothers of feminism disapproved. She also related her fear that the increased attempts to link abortion to E.R.A. would kill the amendment's ratification, and eventually feminism as well.

In 1984, FFL's headquarters was moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Feminists for Life began to receive more national exposure during this time through media interviews, involvement in a broad spectrum of pro-life issues, and invitations to speak at pro-life events.

In 1994, the organization relocated its national office to Washington, D.C., where Feminists for Life reorganized its structure, updated its image, revamped the Sisterlife newsletter as The American Feminist magazine, created its first website, and began to develop new outreach programs, including the College Outreach Program. FFL also became more involved in political advocacy, working to ensure the passage of the Violence Against Women Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and enhanced enforcement for child support, as well as fighting against child exclusion provisions in the Welfare Reform Act.

In 2002, after several members of the Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians were arrested on the orders of Nellie Gray, holder of the permit for the annual March for Life observing the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, for attempting to march under the PLAGAL banner, Feminists for Life Executive Director Serrin Foster came out publicly in support of PLAGAL, saying she also had had similar run-ins with Gray in the past.

In mid-2005, the organization's building closed without warning, and once again Feminists for Life pulled up roots and moved headquarters to Alexandria, Virginia. Feminists for Life's recent work has involved advocating laws protecting pregnant women from being coerced into an abortion, laws that provide pregnant and parenting students with services (most notably the Federal Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Services Act which is presently under consideration in Congress), and monitoring cases of pregnancy discrimination.

On February 15, 2006, Susan B. Anthony's birthday, Feminists for Life saw the first major Congressional discussions on the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Students Act get underway. On October 2, 2006 FFL President Serrin Foster announced that Feminists for Life would be launching a national web campaign to premote their pro-woman/pro-life message. The campaign will include a course in pro-life feminist response to the traditional pro-choice arguments for abortion. The campaign was launched October 5th, 2006.

(Primary source: Rosemary Oelrich Bottcher, "The Conception and Life of FFL", The American Feminist vol. 9 no. 2, pp. 3-6.)

[edit] Feminists for Life of New York

Feminists for Life of New York is located in Rochester, New York, and is a state chapter of Feminists for Life of America. Mary Dwelley, the president of Feminists for Life of New York, was killed in a car wreck on April 11, 2006. [1]

Carol Crossed, a board member of Feminists for Life of New York, purchased the Massachusetts birth place of Susan B. Anthony on August 5, 2006. [2]

[edit] The Susan B. Anthony House

Susan B. Anthony is as much a symbol to pro-life feminists today as she was to suffragettes a hundred years ago. In addition to women's suffrage, Anthony was a vocal opponent of abortion who considered abortion to be child murder and form of oppression and exploitation of women. Her most famous quote on the subject, "Guilty? Yes. No matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed. It will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death; But oh, thrice guilty is he who drove her to the desperation which impelled her to the crime!" was printed in her newspaper, The Revolution.

Feminists for Life will not own the Susan B. Anthony birthplace, but will maintain the property and develop a plan to continue the pro-life feminist legacy of Susan B. Anthony.

On the property is a yellow rose bush that was orignially planted by Anthony's mother and which eventually became a symbol of the suffragettes, in their fight for women's suffrage. As the red rose is the symbol of the pro-life movement, some pro-life feminists have considered adopting a yellow rose with red speckled tips (called a peace rose) as the symbol of pro-life feminism.

[edit] Feminists For Life New Zealand (1978-1983)

Though headquartered in the United States, Feminists for Life also has members and supporters internationally. Originally founded in response to correspondence with American founder Pat Goltz, Feminists for Life New Zealand (1978-1983) was founded by Connie Purdue (who also founded the New Zealand National Organization for Women) and romance writer Daphne Clair de Jong, who like their American counter parts, Goltz and Callahan, found themselves at odds with the feminist establishment's endorsement of abortion.

During this period, de Jong authored "Abortion and Feminism; the Great Inconsistency" and "The Feminist Sell-Out" [3] for the New Zealand Listener. The articles attacked pro-choice ideology as inconsistent with feminist principles and a pandering to a male system devised by men for men.

Feminists for Life of New Zealand is no longer associated with Feminists for Life of America. It has been known since 1984 as "Women for Life." Although it began as a pro-life feminist organisation like its US namesake, the organization gradually changed from a secular liberal orientated organization to a Christian conservative oriented organization, reflecting the changing views of its founder Connie Purdue (1912-2000). It now focuses solely on fetal life, rather than FFL's pro-woman, pro-life approach.

[edit] Feminists for Life of Ireland

Feminists for Life also has an international branch in Ireland, known as Feminists for Life of Ireland. The group was at one time headed by Irish feminist Breda O Brien, who was profiled by The American Feminist's "Herstory Worth Repeating" project.

Feminists for Life of Ireland is not the only pro-life feminist organization in this area, and works with other groups such as Feminists Against Eugenics.

[edit] Major Outreach Programs

[edit] The American Feminist

The American Feminist has been the official magazine and primary publication of Feminists for Life since 1994, when it replaced FFL's Sisterlife newsletter. Since its beginning, most issues have been thematic, exploring "Crimes Against Women Around the World," "Victory Over Violence," "Remarkable Pro-Life Women," "Our Pro-Woman, Pro-Life Legacy," "FFL On Campus: The Revolution Continues," and "Pro-Woman Answers to Pro-Choice Questions." [4]

[edit] College Outreach Program

FFL's College Outreach program began in 1994 when Serrin Foster, now president of Feminists for Life, began delivering her speech, "The Feminist Case Against Abortion," on college campuses. Originally designed to educate students about the history of pro-life feminism, the speech evolved to identify difficulties faced by pregnant and parenting women in the workplace and higher education and to propose "creative, life-affirming, women-centered solutions." Feminists for Life identified college women as the group at greatest risk of abortion and determined to address their unmet needs, including the coercive factors that drive them to choose between their education and their children.

Over the next couple of years, FFL began designing an ad series for a college audience challenging traditional abortion rhetoric and providing practical information for pregnant women. A university health clinic kit was designed to help staff advise pregnant students how to seek and access existing support and resources. The first Pregnancy Resources Forum at Georgetown University brought together students, both pro-life and pro-choice, and administrators in a non-confrontational gathering to discuss, identify, publicize, create, and improve resources for pregnant and parenting students on campus. "Question Abortion" became a popular slogan in FFL college activism. In 1997, Planned Parenthood's INsider called FFL's growing College Outreach Program the "newest and most challenging concept in anti-choice [sic] organizing" and predicted it could "have a profound impact" on college campuses.

Feminists for Life went on to creat several kits for student activists, a kit for residential advisors and psychological counselors, a feminist history kit for libraries, and more challenging ads for college audiences, as well as continuing to deliver speeches and moderate Pregnancy Resource Forums on college and university campuses across the United States. More resources became available to students domestically and internationally through the FFL website. "The Feminist Case Against Abortion" was included in the Women's Rights anthology of the Great Speeches in History book series (2001, ISBN 0-7377-0773-9). FFL reports that its College Outreach Program has reached more than 5 million students since 1994, and the rate of abortion among college educated women has dropped by 30%. [5]

(Primary source: The American Feminist vol. 11 nos. 2-3.)

[edit] Women Deserve Better Campaign

Feminists for Life's "Women Deserve Better" campaign was launched on the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. FFL describes it as "a long-term public education effort examining the failure of abortion. The campaign aims to refocus the nation on the reasons women feel pressured into abortion and to promote women-centered solutions" (smf.htm "Women Deserve Better than Abortion"). The basic message of the campaign, featured on ads, billboards, posters, and placards, is, "Abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women. Women deserve better than abortion."

"Abortion is not a measure of society's success in meeting the needs of women," explained FFL president Serrin Foster, "it's a measure of its failure. Why celebrate failure? Abortion is a symptom of—never a solution to—the problems faced by women.... abortion has completely failed as a social policy designed to aid women.... women have had to settle for far less than they need and deserve" ("Women Deserve Better than Abortion").

The "Women Deserve Better" message goes hand-in-hand with Feminists for Life's "Refuse to Choose" motto. Foster explained the philosophy: "We refuse to choose between women and children. We refuse to choose between sacrificing our education and career plans or sacrificing our children."[15]

The major legislative goal of Feminists for Life's "Women Deserve Better" campaign has been the passage of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Act by Congress. The Elizabeth Cady Stanton Act was first introduced into Congress by Senator Elizabeth Dole on November 8, 2005, and by Congresswoman Melissa Hart on November 9, 2005. The first Capitol Hill briefing on the legislation took place on Susan B. Anthony's birthday, February 15, 2006.[16]

In 2006, Feminists for Life President Serrin Foster announced the beginning of massive web and email campaign to educate the general public about pro-life feminism. The campaign is part of their "Women Deserve Better" campaign and will feature pro-woman answers to pro-choice questions, being sent out weekly to members of their e-list, who will then forward it to their family, and friends.

[edit] International Outreach Program

In 2004, Feminists for Life launched an International Outreach Program, on the grounds that "in every country and region of the world, abortion is a reflection that the needs of women have not been met. Women Deserve Better than abortion, no matter where they live."[17] According to FFL's "Global Vision":

Feminists for Life seeks lasting solutions to the problems that can drive women to abortion worldwide. These solutions include:
  • increased education standards and opportunities for the poor, especially for girls
  • increased employment opportunities for all women, especially poor women and those who have been excluded from such opportunities
  • micro-loans and other business assistance for low-income women to start businesses and own land
  • health care for mother and child, before and after birth, including prenatal care, assisted delivery, postpartum care, emergency services, immunizations, disease prevantion and treatment, especially for the HIV/AIDS pandemic
  • sustainable development that provides clean water, sanitation, housing and food
  • child care for the working poor and regulations to protect vulnerable women and children from forced labor
  • protection for women and children from violence, including sex trafficking
  • measures to rescue women trapped in domestic violence
(The American Feminist vol. 12 no. 1, p. 20)

"Abortion doesn't put food on the table, or provide clean water. After an abortion, a woman returns to the same situation that drove her there. One abortion is too many. It means we have failed women," argued FFL's international outreach director Marie Smith. "What women want and need is full participation as citizens, equal access to resources and opportunities, and enforced legal protection against discrimination, violence, and oppression.... Education is the most empowering choice for any woman's future."[18] Feminists for Life bases this thinking on the argument of early American feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who said, "There must be a remedy for such a crying evil as [abortion]. But where shall it be found, at least where begin, if not the complete enfranchisement and elevation of women?"[19]

In 2005, FFL was granted special consultative status as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) by the United Nations' Economic and Social Council.[20]

[edit] Celebrity activists

Two-time Emmy Award winning actress Patricia Heaton is honorary chair of Feminists for Life. Heaton said she believes in "supporting people and stepping out and affirming that life is good," and she "wanted to find a group that had compassionate, intelligent, reasonable people who are fun and life-affirming" when she joined FFL. Heaton's activist motto is, "Women who are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy also deserve unplanned joy."[21]

Actress Margaret Colin is honorary co-chair of Feminists for Life. In an address to a Congressional briefing on July 14, 2002, Colin said, "[Abortion] is violence against women. This is the failure of medicine to help and heal. We need to address the reasons that women seek abortions, to help them find the resources that are available to ease their situations, and coordinate the resources nationwide. Politically, women have always sought to address the root causes. This isn't news. The early American feminists, who fought for our right to vote, fought for the rights of pregnant women—-for society to change to accept them, not for them to change to be accepted by society.... remember the woman. Become her voice. And help us redirect this debate by focusing on solutions—-because women deserve better."[22]

Both women's mothers were active in the early pro-life movement during the sixties and seventies. Patricia Heaton's mother was a Catholic political activist, who in addition to working to premote racial integration in the area that they lived, was also a staunch abortion opponent. Ms. Colin's mother helped found the New York State Right to Life Party, after the State of New York legalized abortion in 1970. Both celebrities credit their mothers influence as part of their right to life stance (Ms. Heaton took the opportunity to publicly thank her late mother at the Emmy's for giving her a chance at life) and both women have spoken on behalf of Feminists for Life on Capitol Hill, at the White House, and in the national media.

Although not a celebrity activist on behalf of the organization, actress Hunter Tylo became a symbol of Feminists for Life's mission during the 1990s, when she was fired from the television series Melrose Place after becoming pregnant and refused to have an abortion. Her case made headlines when the actress fought back and sued the shows producer for pregnancy discrimination.

Jane Sullivan Roberts, wife of U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, is counsel to the organization and a former Vice-President. [6] The controversy this engendered during Roberts' confirmation hearings, when his positions on abortion were challenged, led to great focus on the group; according FFL's president, "[w]e've had our share of media attention, but I've never seen anything like what is happening in the mainstream press right now" [7].

[edit] Printed resources

  • Prolife Feminism: Yesterday and Today, second edition, edited by Mary Krane Derr, Linda Naranjo-Huebl, and Rachel MacNair (2005, ISBN 1-4134-9576-1)
  • Pro-Life Feminism: Different Voices edited by Gail Grenier-Sweet (1985, ISBN 0-919225-22-5)
  • Prolife Feminism: Yesterday and Today, edited by Mary Krane Derr, Linda Naranjo-Huebl, and Rachel MacNair (1995, ISBN 0-945819-62-5)
  • Swimming Against the Tide: Feminist Dissent on the Issue of Abortion, edited by Angela Kennedy (1997, ISBN 1-85182-267-4)
  • The American Feminist, publication of Feminists for Life
  • Women's Rights (Great Speeches in History) edited by Jennifer A. Hurley (2001, ISBN 0-7377-0773-9)
  • [8] Feminists for Life amicus brief in Bray vs. Alexandria Women's Health Clinic
  • [9] Feminists for Life amicus brief in Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services

[edit] References

  1. ^ FFL's Mission Statement
  2. ^ a b The American Feminist vol. 12 no. 1, p. 5
  3. ^ Text of Doe v. Bolton from FindLaw.com
  4. ^ O'Brien, Nancy, and Foster, Serrin, "Women's Groups March in Wrong Direction", The American Feminist, Summer 1995
  5. ^ The American Feminist - volume 10, no. 1, page 4
  6. ^ The Euthanasia/Abortion Connection
  7. ^ Desperate Young Women Kill Their Newborn Babies: Fighting a Culture of Violence
  8. ^ Child Abuse: Abortion and the Battered Child
  9. ^ Feminists for Life, Frequently Asked Questions
  10. ^ Equality in the Workplace
  11. ^ Foster, Serrin, "The Feminist Case Against Abortion", The American Feminist vol. 11 nos. 2-3, p. 29
  12. ^ More information about the author, early American feminist Mattie Brinkerhoff, is available in Louise R. Noun's history Strong Minded Women: The Emergence of the Woman-Suffrage Movement in Iowa (Iowa State University Press; 1969).
  13. ^ The Revolution, 4(9):138-9, September 2, 1869.
  14. ^ "Reflecting as FFL Celebrates Its Tenth Birthday" and "HLA and ERA—Inedible Alphabet Soup?" in Pro-Life Feminism: Different Voices, ISBN 0-919225-22-5, pp. 17 & 35
  15. ^ "Some Feminists Won't Participate in 'March for Women's Lives'"
  16. ^ Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Act
  17. ^ FFL International index
  18. ^ The American Feminist vol. 12 no. 1, pp. 20-21
  19. ^ The Revolution, 1(10):146-7 March 12, 1868
  20. ^ "New Voice for Women and Children at United Nations"
  21. ^ The American Feminist vol. 7 no. 4, pp. 12-13
  22. ^ The American Feminist vol. 12 no. 1, p. 4

[edit] External links

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