[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 83 (Monday, June 14, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H4213]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TO BE A FEMINIST MEANS TO BE PRO-LIFE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, at one time or another we have all 
seen the bumper sticker which reads: ``Pro-Women = Pro-Choice,'' and it 
is presumed that feminists and defenders of equity and rights for women 
are defenders of abortion.
  But in fact, what most feminists do not wish to acknowledge is that 
the early suffragists who are responsible for today's women's movement 
actually were staunchly pro-life.
  Over a century ago, Susan B. Anthony tirelessly campaigned for 
suffrage for women's employment rights and for the abolition of 
slavery. She voted illegally, took part in the underground railroad, 
and yes, Susan B. Anthony, a mother of the feminist movement, opposed 
abortion.
  In The Revolution, the radical women's paper which she published, 
along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Anthony strongly editorialized 
against abortion. She referred to the bloody act as child murder and 
infanticide, and addressed its root causes in women's oppression and in 
the abdication of family planning. She argued that laws pertaining to 
abortion victimized women while absolving men of all responsibility.
  Susan B. Anthony was not alone in her thinking. Other early feminists 
also opposed abortion. For example, Elizabeth Cady Stanton proclaimed 
that ``If it is degrading to treat a woman as property, it is no better 
for a woman to treat her own child as property.'' Suffragist Margaret 
Sanger stated that abortion was a disowning of feminine values.
  The first female presidential candidate, Victoria Woodhull, was 
likewise strongly against abortion. She stated that every woman knows 
that if she were free, she would never bear an unwished-for child nor 
think of murdering one before its birth.
  Astonishingly enough, most feminists prefer to ignore that Alice 
Paul, the original author of the Equal Rights Amendment, the ERA, of 
1923, said: ``Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women.'' 
Naturally, Paul opposed the later trend of linking abortion with the 
ERA movement.
  Like the early suffragists who fought to give women's rights, a 
feminist should believe in the right to protect her own body, and in 
the likeness of Susan B. Anthony, the feminist, should stand up to 
defend the poor, oppressed, and rejected. She should fight for all 
human beings, whether they are black or white, born or unborn.
  The phrase, ``It's a man's world'' is often used to describe today's 
society, a society which tends to view unplanned pregnancy and 
motherhood as an inconvenience. But many of today's feminists, rather 
than focusing on a woman's financial distress, the problems she may be 
facing at school, work, or at home, choose to give in to the pressures 
of a man's world.
  Rather than fight for acceptance and protection for women facing 
unexpected pregnancies, many feminists suggest a dangerous, potentially 
fatal abortion as the remedy to all conditions. What would the 
suffragists have to say about giving in to this cruel society? Early 
feminist Susan Norton said, ``Perhaps there will come a time when an 
unmarried mother will not be despised because of her motherhood, when 
the right of the unborn to be born will not be denied or interfered 
with.''
  As one of six pro-life women in Congress and a mother of two 
daughters, I believe that abortion is not a sign that women are free to 
choose. On the contrary, it is a sign that women incorrectly feel 
desperate and feel that they have no choice. Susan B. Anthony and the 
early defenders of the women's rights would agree that the slogan 
``pro-choice'' is by no means to be equated with being pro-women. 
Perhaps if the early feminists were alive today, they would be fighting 
to amend those bumper stickers to instead read, ``Pro-Women = Pro-
Life.''
  I would like to thank the tireless pro-life advocate, Jane Abraham, 
president of the Susan B. Anthony List, for her inspiration. Jane has 
dedicated her time to enlighten persons on the feminist movement in 
America and to educate and train pro-life women for successful 
political careers.
  Tonight I congratulate Jane and the many pro-life organizations and 
the countless volunteers who persevere in their hopes for finding a 
cure to our Nation's abortion rates.

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