"They [the women] are never allowed to look at the ultrasound because we knew

that if they so much as heard the heart beat, they wouldn't \want to have an
abortion." Abortion doctor quoted in New Dimensions magazine, 1990
Invariably, the feminist position on abortion is portrayed as the "pro-woman"
positionmostly because feminist leaders have convinced their followers that this
procedure is essential to women's liberty. As Gloria Feldt, former president of
Planned Parenthood, said, "'abortion' became a symbol of our independence,
because reproductive freedom is fundamental to a woman's aspirations."
This is also known as the "pro-choice" position. But how do feminists feel about
women who don't choose abortionand, more importantly, the women who assist
them in making that choice?
Don't be fooled by the deceptive labels and euphemisms. When it comes to
"reproductive rights," feminists have a very specific agendaone that involves a lot
more abortions, but not necessarily more choice.
At Temple University in Philadelphia, Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life
of America, faced a tough crowd. As Crisis magazine described the scene, "The 40
or so students gathered to hear Foster are mostly women. Not even the pro-lifers
are smiling. The student who introduced her asked those with differing opinions to
be respectful. It set an ominous tone. Would they start chanting soon? Blowing
whistles? Would they get violent?"
But then, somehow, Foster performed a miracle. She threw the cover off "the dirty
little secret of women's studies departments" America's earliest feminists were
anti-abortion. In the words of courageous suffragette Susan B. Anthony, abortion
was "child murder," and "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!"
Foster then asked the crowd, "If women were fighting for the right not to be
considered property, what gives them the right to consider their baby property?"
It was something to think about. From that moment on, even students who had
showed up to protest couldn't help but nod in agreement.
That night, Foster raised a point that feminists dare not discuss: before the women's
movement was hijacked by leftists in the 1960s, abortion was never viewed as a
good thing for women. In fact, the practice was unthinkable to individuals like
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the mastermind behind the historic Seneca Falls
Convention and mother of seven children. (If Stanton applied for a teaching position

in a women's studies department today, she would be labeled a "Jesus freak" and
promptly dismissed.)
"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,"
Stanton wrote to her friend Julia Ward Howe in 1873.
She wasn't the only one.
Victoria Woodhull, the first female stockbroker on Wall Street, also became the
first woman to run for President in 1870. An early suffragette with a flair for the
outrageous, Woodhull epitomized the modern feminist slogan "well-behaved women
rarely make history." (She was repeatedly arrested for her political activities.) And
she too hated abortion.
"A human life is a human life and equally to be held sacred whether it be a day or a
century old," Woodhull wrote. "Wives...to prevent becoming mothers...deliberately
murder [children] while yet in their wombs. Can there be a more demoralized
condition than this? "
Alice Paul, who authored the original Equal Rights Amendment, was willing to face
arrests, harassment, and physical assaults in order to win the right to vote. Later,
when 1960s feminists began advocating the repeal of abortion laws, Paul asked,
"How can one protect and help women by killing them as babies?" She considered
abortion "the ultimate exploitation of women."
Who are the modern descendents of Anthony, Stanton, Woodhull, and Paul? They
can be found at Feminists for Life of America, whose founder, Pat Goltz, was kicked
out of NOW for her anti-abortion views. On its website, FFL issues a challenge: "If
you believe in the strength of women and the potential for every human life...If you
refuse to choose between women and children...If you reject violence and
exploitation, join us in challenging the status quo. There is a better way."
FFL reaches out to women facing crisis pregnancies and opposes any legislation that
might make it harder for them to keep their childrenmuch of which has been
proposed by Republicans, proving that FFL hardly deserves the "right- wing" label
assigned to it by pro-abortion feminists. In 1996, FFL attempted to dissuade
President Clinton from signing a Republican-backed welfare reform bill that eliminated additional assistance for babies born to girls under 18. Their rationale? If a
pregnant girl couldn't afford to raise her child, she would have no choice but to
abort.
FFL also pressures universities to provide special resources for pregnant and
parenting students, a move opposed by many conservatives on the principle that
pregnant women aren't entitled to handouts. But FFL refuses to compromise its

mission: to make motherhood a viable option for women facing unwanted

pregnancies.
FFL is not actively involved in efforts to outlaw abortion. Instead, the group is
interested in "systematically eliminating the root causes that drive women to
abortion primarily lack of practical resources and support through holistic,
woman-centered solutions."
This is a truly "pro-choice" positionthe one that groups like NOW and NARAL claim
to uphold. But evidently a lot of feminists do not believe that women deserve better
than abortion.
"Who are the Feminists for Life? In a word, dangerous," began an article in the
online magazine Nerve.
"Feminists for what?" the author gasped. "Not a typo: Feminists for Life. As in,
against abortion." The horror!
As the article explained, the women of FFL "aren't really feministsa feminist could
not force another woman to bear a child."
Feminist hysteria over FFL indicates that the only "choice" they deem acceptable is
the decision to terminate a pregnancy. The way FFL was treated by the Lilith Fair, a
feminist music festival organized by singer Sarah McLachlan in the late 90's,
proved that different views on abortion will not be tolerated.
"Women are everywhere. Walking in groups, laughing and talking. Sitting on the
grass. Playing the guitar. Reading pamphlets on women's issues picked up from
booths in the Village area," a reporter described Lilith Fair's stop in my hometown of
Cleveland, Ohio. "There is also a woman with a gag in her mouth standing in front of
one of the booths, wearing a T-shirt reading, 'Peace begins in the womb, Sarah.'"
That woman was Marilyn Kopp, the director of Ohio Feminists for Life. Lilith Fair,
despite its stated mission of "raising consciousness of women's issues," denied
booth space to any group that did not wholeheartedly support abortion as the
ultimate catalyst of gender equality.
Naturally, Lilith Fair's feminist organizers were outraged that FFL had the gall to
show up at their concert.
"This isn't a democracy. This is a tyranny," fumed singer Sheryl Crow, justifying
Lilith's ban on pro-life groups.
However, some ordinary concertgoers were unimpressed with the notion of tyranny
in the name of women's advancement.
"As Kopp's friend Denise Mackura stands gagged in front of the NOW booth, a
group of teenage girls walk up to her. When they find out what's going on, they're

shocked," reporter Laura Demarco wrote. "They see the situation as a violation of
civil rights, not a defense of women's rights. 'This is wrong,' says Casey Patton, 17."
The sight of FFL members standing in front of NOW's booth with gags in their
mouths spoke volumes about the authoritarian nature of the modern feminist
movement. As DeMarco observed, "It's hard to miss the hypocrisy of feminists
censoring other women like this they patronizingly assume women aren't smart
enough to hear all sides on an issue and decide for themselves."
The prospect of women deciding for themselves is terribly threatening to the
feminist establishmentwhich might also explain their fanatical opposition to Crisis
Pregnancy Centers.
Ashley Herzog, Feminism vs. Women (Xulon Press, 2008), 85-91.