An Open Letter

Dear Women of the Susan B. Anthony List,

I'll start out saying that I am an enthusiastic and vocal supporter of choice for women when it comes to abortion, so if you don't want to read the rest of this, I'll understand.

I also understand where you stand on a difficult issue. Abortion is the destruction of potential life, after all. Phrase it however you want to, the hard truth is that an abortion is the destruction of what could become a cuddly, innocent baby. No rational, sane person wants to kill babies. Abortion doctors are not wringing their blood soaked hands and cackling with glee at the money they make.

We all want to live in a world where every child born is wanted, loved, and cared for. Everybody is "pro-life." The debate comes down to whether or not someone thinks a woman has the right to choose whether or not she can abort a pregnancy. I do. You don't. And I respect your right to choose your stance on the matter.

Your organization is named for Susan B. Anthony, the most recognisable name not only in the suffrage movement, but also in the history of feminism. She was aggressive and vocal in a time when women rarely left the home. She was a supporter of the temperance movement as well as an opponent of slavery.

There is one article on abortion that is attributed to Anthony. It appeared in her publication The Revolution on July 8, 1869. I've not been able to locate the entire article anywhere, only choice snippets on anti-choice websites. The following is the largest quote I was able to find, found in a legal document filed by Feminists for Life.

Much as I deplore the horrible crime of child-murder, earnestly as I desire its suppression, I cannot believe . . . that such a law [prohibiting abortion] would have the desired effect. It seems to me to be only mowing off the top of the noxious weed, while the root remains. We want prevention, not merely punishment. We must reach the root of the evil, and destroy it.

To my certain knowledge this crime is not confined to those whose love of ease, amusement and fashionable life leads them to desire immunity from the cares of children: but is practiced by those whose inmost souls revolt from the dreadful deed, and in whose hearts the maternal feeling is pure and undying. What, then has driven these women to the desperation necessary to force them to commit such a deed? This question being answered, I believe, we shall have such an insight into the matter as to be able to talk more clearly of a remedy.

Notice I said this article was attributed to Anthony. Apparently, it was only signed "-A." While it did appear in a publication run by the infamous feminist, there's little proof that she penned it herself.

Earlier I said that anti-choice website picked out specific bits to show as evidence that Anthony was against abortion. The most common one is, unsurprisingly, "the horrible crime of child-murder."

However, the rest of the article (what we have of it, anyways) goes on to state that a law prohibiting abortion would not have the "desired effect." The writer expresses the need to prevent unwanted pregnancies. The "root of evil" is, in the writer's view, the man who knocked her up, the society that doesn't educate her on preventative measures, and the government who doesn't help her before, during, or after pregnancy.

The writer also points out that good, loving, caring women who have abortions do so because they feel they have no alternatives.

Boy, I wish I could find the rest of this article. I love feminist writings from the Victorian Era and prior. Ever read the Yellow Wallpaper? It's a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman about how a woman's husband has her committed when she suffers from postpartum depression. Back in the day, there was little to no helpful pre- and post-natal care for women... Oh, now I'm going off on a tangent, sorry. Think you can make the rest of Anthony's article available somehow?

Sounds to me like Susan B. Anthony would have been a supporter of Planned Parenthood had she lived to see it's inception. We can compare the words attributed to her to PP's own mission statement:

It is the policy of Planned Parenthood Federation of America to assure that all individuals have the freedom to make reproductive decisions. In order to enable the individual to make and implement a responsible decision, there should be access to information and services related to sexuality, reproduction, methods of contraception, fertility control, and parenthood. Furthermore, Planned Parenthood asserts that both parenthood and nonparenthood are valid personal decisions.

Ladies of Susan B. Anthony List, you have a five point mission statement of your own. Here's my idea, tell me what you think. Amend your mission statement to actually adhere to what you claim are your namesake's beliefs. Let's go down your list.

Rather than #1, "Train pro-life and political activists to run successful grassroots and political campaigns," why not train young women how to prevent unwanted pregnancies and how to raise and care for the kids they decide to keep.

Instead of your #2, "Advocate the passage of pro-life legislation in Congress," let's try advocating the passage of legislation in Congress that will provide better health care for women and children and easier access to pregnancy prevention information and birth control.

#3 sounds great, I love it. "Work to dispel the myths about abortion and women's perspectives on it through our comprehensive media and radio outreach programs." Only the myths you list on your site you don't bother to dispel at all. I think that is would be great to dispel all myths regarding not only abortion but also pregnancy in general, backed up with facts, statistics, and medical research. That's an easy one.

On to fixing #4, "Educate voters about important pro-life issues so that they can make educated decisions in the voting booth." Instead of that, let's educate women on number 1. I guess we can combine these, right? Educating women and men on prevention, like Susie B. said. Get it at the root.

#5 needs the most work: "Elect more pro-life women in Congress through our associated Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund." Now this just sounds like conservative propaganda, and I know an organization named after Susan B. Anthony has to be better than that. Howsabout "Elect more women in Congress who support women's rights and encourage the prevention of unwanted pregnancy, health care, parental support, etc." You see where I'm going with that, your people can make it sound better.

Abortion is a difficult thing for someone to go through. In a perfect world, there would not be a need for them. We don't live in that perfect world, so we have to do what we can. We have to educate and then trust women to do what is right for themselves and their families.

BSV
Conservative Fudge