Pro-life feminism

Pro-life feminism is opposition to abortion due to feminism. The position asserts that abortion has served to hurt women more than it has benefited them.

Related Topics:
Abortion - Feminism

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Early feminists, such as Susan B. Anthony, considered abortion to be an evil forced upon women by men. Feminist pro-life groups claim to continue the tradition of Anthony and see abortion as a tool used by (patriarchal) culture to keep women in submission: a feminist culture would adapt its structure to encompass mothers and reward mothering.1

Related Topics:
Susan B. Anthony - 1

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Some feminist organizations (i.e. organizations that work to advance the rights and dignity of women) maintain that abortion can never be a right. These groups posit that when a society considers abortion as a solution for a pregnant woman, that society has let the woman down by offering her only the violent choice of abortion - thereby conspiring in a systemic act of violence that kills an innocent human person and harms the woman physically and psychologically. Some of them share traits with Pro-life groups.

Related Topics:
Right - Pro-life

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The most prominent organization in this class is Feminists for Life, whose most well-known national spokesperson is Emmy-winning actress Patricia Heaton, star of the popular U.S. television comedy series "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Related Topics:
Feminists for Life - Patricia Heaton

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Norma McCorvey, the Jane Roe who was the winning plaintiff in the famous court case Roe v. Wade that established the right to abortion in the US, is now a pro-life feminist and explains:

Related Topics:
Norma McCorvey - Roe v. Wade

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::"One of my most important activities is . . . . to work for the reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision. . . . The approach we are taking is to show that the lives and rights of women have not been advanced or enhanced, but rather destroyed, by abortion-on-demand. We are collecting affidavits from women who have been harmed by abortion, from women who are convinced that authentic feminism is pro-life, and from professionals who know that Roe has weakened the moral fabric of the legal and medical professions."

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The Catholic Church also promotes what it calls "New Feminism", a theology summarized in the encyclical letter "Mulieris Dignitatum" (latin for "On the Dignity of Woman") that promotes equal dignity for men and women while recognizing that biological differences between the two sexes cannot be erased and instead this rich diversity - especially fertility and motherhood - should be celebrated and elevated by society. Harvard Law School professor Mary Ann Glendon was the official Vatican representative to the international 1995 Beijing Conference on Women sponsored by the United Nations where she advocated this "New Feminism". The Holy See joined with several other nations to oppose efforts to declare abortion as a human right. Recent comments made by Dr. Glendon, currently President of the Roman Catholic Church's official Pontifical Council for the Sciences, exemplify the "New Feminism":

Related Topics:
Catholic Church - Mulieris Dignitatum - Harvard - Law School - Mary Ann Glendon - Vatican - United Nations

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:"What is clearly 'old-fashioned' today is the old feminism of the 1970s -- with its negative attitudes toward men, marriage and motherhood, and its rigid party line on abortion and gay rights."

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Some have accused Feminists for Life and other such pro-life feminist groups of having little to do with feminism, pointing out their efforts seldom extend beyond opposition to abortion, and claiming they merely represent an effort by the pro-life movement to gain support with women.

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