America needs pro-life feminism
Liberal feminism, with its addiction to abortion and its bullying of men, was never what American women and men – and certainly the American family – needed.
Despite some of the best of its intentions, it was mixed up in eugenics and disloyal to the legacy of the suffragette movement, a failed experiment in remaking reality that has left a trail of misery….
We girls can be confident, feminine, life-affirming compliments to men, at home, school, work, and politics. And even pro-life conservatives. We’ve come a long way, baby.
~ Kathryn Jean Lopez, Galesburg.com, June 20
Jun.21, 2011 6:00 am |
Feminism |
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
I am a confident, feminine, life-affirming compliment to my boyfriend etc etc. and I am a pro-choice liberal feminist.
This image that the right has of feminists being angry butch man-hating bra-burners ( or “pigs” as Gerard Nedal has commented) is irrational, outdated, and rooted in fear.
“We girls can be confident, feminine, life-affirming compliments to men, at home, school, work, and politics. And even pro-life conservatives. We’ve come a long way, baby.”
Bravo, Ms. Lopez!
This makes me proud to be a woman! Feminists give femininity a bad name. We (real feminists) must take our womanhood back!
Elle- what about you makes you a “real feminist” and me…not a real feminist?
You’re both feminists. But the smart feminist realizes that she doesn’t achieve equality by abusing her children. The smart feminist realizes that her unborn child is not her enemy. I came of age in the early 1970s and am a member of the “Abortion Generation” derisively called Baby Boomers. I was one of the rare female automotive engineers, sacrificing my first child to abortion for the sake of my career.
Women really don’t need abortion – they need the self confidence to not allow themselves to be manipulated by predatory males. We’ve lost ground since the 1970s.
Awesome quote of the day! I’m not a political conservative, but I agree with the quote 100%. Abortion does not make us equal. It destroys, it does not build up. Many years ago feminists sold us out, they abandoned the fight for equal pay for equal work and instead embraced abortion. Why? Because men got on board with THAT. Maybe younger feminists can still be fooled, but I’m old enough to remember personally how it went down, how the ERA was defeated again in ’72, and when Roe v Wade happened in 73, the feminists immediately abandoned their former goals and embraced abortion like it was nobody’s business. And it was.
It’s a lie that any woman needs to kill her children to be equal.
Abortion is the most anti-feminist thing in existence. Pro “choice” women are oppressors, and oppressors of their own children. A true feminist realizes that our rights are not diametrically opposed to our unborn children’s rights…they are intrinsically linked. And I don’t need an elective and violent surgical procedure to make me equal. I AM equal. Killing our babies isn’t bodily autonomy and independence; it’s chaos. True liberty does not equal license.
Anyone who believes that women deserve the same rights as the rest of society is a feminist. You can be a pro-life feminist and you can be a pro-choice feminist. These rights, however, are brought to you by the hard work of progressive feminists.
These rights, however, are brought to you by the hard work of progressive feminists.
Ha! Hardly. Progressive feminists gave me no such “rights.” Progressive feminists are the ones who successfully jumped in with both feet and bras ablaze to not only continue, but adeptly proliferate the sexual objectification of all women. And not only did they proclaim from the mountain tops our new celebrated “right” of being objectified, used, and abused, but they then singlehandedly assisted all users and objectifiers to be free from feeling burdened by women’s femininity by offering to kill their own unborn children.
Yes, the progressive feminists can pat themselves on the back for that “hard work.”
Yes, Jane, women deserve the same rights as the rest of society. That does not include the right to dismember and incinerate your own child. The ability to become pregnant is not a flaw; babies are not commodities or things to “get” whenever you want. I am a gay-rights activist, I am against the death penalty, I believe in the dignity of all human life, and I am not particularly religious. Instead of women saying “We get pregnant, we’re awesome, deal with it” –the lie of pro “choice” feminism is basically kowtowing to the patriarchy. “Oh, my pregnancy is inconvenient? I’ll just kill my baby then, to compete with you.” There is NOTHING feminist about abortion. It is cruel, it is backwards, it is violent, it is completely unnecessary. It is not liberating at all. We cannot claim liberty while killing our children. We know that these are babies, we understand development, and to deny the rights of the smallest and most beautiful of all of us is not justice; it is sick. “Choice” is a euphemism for abortion, ALWAYS. And abortion is a disgrace.
Our unborn children are not our enemies; their rights do not “trump” ours, nor do our rights “trump” theirs….The right to exist trumps ALL. We have no right to decide who lives and who dies based on convenience. Life is beautiful; it is best to err on the side of life. I know this, having gone through it. To kill your child in order to live as you want is not freedom. That is a horrific notion. We should ALL be horrified at abortion. Every single one of us.
We cannot claim liberty while killing our children…To kill your child in order to live as you want is not freedom.
Yes! And what progressive feminists seem to be ignorant of is that what they advocate is NOT freedom it is oppression. They do not understand freedom. They confuse freedom with license (I can do whatever I want).
Kris! Yes, I say that to pro-aborts all the time. FREEDOM is not LICENSE. We cannot do whatever we want whenever we want. We are not entitled to kill our children for the sake of “liberty.” What kind of “liberty” is that?! These are our children, our babies. Why all this hatred towards the unborn? They think pro-life feminists are self-loathing….they have it backwards. Any woman who believes pregnancy is something that needs to be “corrected” is self-loathing.
Quoting Kris at 12:42 pm, “And what progressive feminists seem to be ignorant of is that what they advocate is NOT freedom it is oppression. They do not understand freedom.”
Progressive feminists were quick to beat me down for having abortion regret. I was told it was not normal to have abortion regret, and, as a matter of fact, there were supposedly no studies to link depression and abortion. I was also called a misogynist. I felt there must be something wrong with me then and tried to commit suicide twice. Where were my progressive feminist sisters when I held the gun to my head? Nowhere.
It took prolife feminists to truly help me. I am forever grateful to them. So, I agree with Kris that progressive feminists oppress women, especially women with abortion regret reaching out for help.
Jane said: You can be a pro-life feminist and you can be a pro-choice feminist.
The difference is, one affirms life (even from the moment of conception) the other things it’s okay for a woman to kill her baby while said human being is still in the womb.
RCH said: Progressive feminists were quick to beat me down for having abortion regret. I was told it was not normal to have abortion regret, and, as a matter of fact, there were supposedly no studies to link depression and abortion. I was also called a misogynist. I felt there must be something wrong with me then and tried to commit suicide twice. Where were my progressive feminist sisters when I held the gun to my head? Nowhere.
It amazes me how they’ll cheer for a woman “exercising her rights” by having an abortion, but the minute she regrets or chooses something else, she’s not considered cheer-worthy. My heart breaks when I hear of women who went through such things like you did and the very people who claim to be so pro-women head for the hills, then criticize pro-life women for standing up and comforting the post-abortive women who regret that choice.
I am glad, RCH, that you were able to find the help you need. I know a woman who was forced into having an abortion and regretted it. She said when she woke up she was sore all over as if she had fought the people performing the abortions. She said she wouldn’t wish that experience on her worst enemy.
RCH- I am so sorry to hear of your experience. It is heart wrenching. I too, am so glad that you found the help that you needed. I will pray for your continued healing.
Your experience is the perfect example of how “progressive” feminists undermine women at every turn. They do not trust women’s natural femininity. They do not trust in the amazing strength and power of the femininity of a woman to possibly overcome an incredibly difficult situation. They do not even trust a woman to know what she feels. They have no true concern for women, only the empty cause for which they stand. To even call them progressive is an oxymoron. There has been no such thing as progress through their movement.
“This image that the right has of feminists being angry butch man-hating bra-burners ( or “pigs” as Gerard Nedal has commented) is irrational, outdated, and rooted in fear.”
Jane, I have seen more man-hating comments from you than anyone else here. You are not helping to dispel that “image”
RCH, my heart aches for the pain you had to endure. I’m sorry that you were in a place so dark that suicide seemed to be the answer, but I’m so glad you were able to find the support you needed. I hope things are better for you now.
“Every woman knows if she were free, she would never bear an unwished-for child, nor think of murdering one before its birth.” Victoria Woodhull was the nation’s first female presidential candidate, who ran under the banner of the Equal Rights Party in 1872. Wheeling, West Virginia Evening Standard, November 17, 1875
“When we consider that woman 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.” Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Letter to Julia Ward Howe, October 16, 1873, recorded in Howe’s diary at Harvard University Library
“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.” Mattie Brinkerhoffn, The Revolution, September 2, 1869, pages 138 and 139.
“…Perhaps there will come a time when…an unmarried mother will not be despised because of her motherhood…and when the right of the unborn to be born will not be denied or interfered with.” Sarah Norton, Woodhull’s and Claffin’s Weekly, November 19, 1870
Alice, Paul, the author of the original Equal Rights Amendment (1923) opposed the later trend of linking the E.R.A. with abortion. A colleague recalls her saying:
“Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women.”
RCH,
I am very grateful for your voice here. You are hardly alone in your experience.
Rachael C.
EXCELLENT!! Thank you!!
“For the question remains, do women want abortion? Not like she wants a Porsche or an ice cream cone. Like an animal caught in a trap, trying to gnaw off its own leg, a woman who seeks abortion is trying to escape a desperate situation by an act of violence and self?loss. Abortion is not a sign that women are free, but a sign that they are desperate.”
Federica Mathewes Green, in her essay, Abortion: Women’s Rights and Wrongs, The Remnant, January 20, 1992
Dear Babies:
I said “I will not be like my Mother” and paid as little as possible to the babysitter and went off to “work”.
What regrets now-as a child I loved my Mother and was so blessed to have her home and have 10 brothers and sisters.
You are the most precious and innocent, so you were the primary target of the lies and the murders.
I am so sorry for my participation in the rejection of marriage, children, and Mother home with the children.
God bless you, Babies, and I pray to make reparation each day. This letter is part of that.
Signed,
60 and So Sorry
Shannon – since you are on a pro-life blog – what do you think about abortion? Sex-selection abortion? Abortion used to keep sex-workers bringing in the money to pimps? Abortion as a human-rights violation? Abortion as the number one cause of human death in African-American populations? Abortion used as a weapon against women? Abortion as a forced-one-child-policy in China? and abortion effects on female populations, since statistically 50% of all aborted children are female? Just wondering!
oh – and what do you think about abortion used as a weapon used against girls who are being preyed-upon by molesters, abusers and incest-do-ers. Forgot that one…
Dear Shannon:
I’d like to know that you are a virgin in the single state of life, or, if married, with a man who is, with you, open to life.
Blessed Mother Teresa said, Let your chastity be chaste.
60 and Chaste
Shannon-Women who call themselves pro-life do so because they support the unborn child’s right to life.
That’s the platform.
Nice attempt at deflecting and derailing the conversation away from the awesome and condemnatory quotes above, though.
And one of my personal favorites:
“It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.”
– Mother Teresa
Dear Shannon:
I just watched “Silent Scream” on You Tube. Please watch it.
Thank you.
Thank you for the support! I don’t hold back from telling my story. I used to be a loud voice in the pro-choice camp. It was easy, especially since I never had an abortion at the time. I foolishly thought I should have the choice to have an abortion just in case I needed it. What stupid thinking! It was the worst “choice” I’ve ever made. I felt I had no other choice and had my child killed. A piece of me died with my child that day. My pro-choice friends were not supportive when I expressed my regret. The abortion clinic was even worse by not providing the promised counseling and sending me out the door as fast as they could when I showed up asking for help. Friends became angry the more I reached out and made me feel like something must be wrong with me to have regret.
So, I share my story. I owe it to my baby.
Thank you RCH. It’s voices like yours that will save others from traveling down the long-winding path. Thank you for your candor, your good heart and your bravery.
I have seen the silent scream thank you for suggesting it
“core of feminism”? Wow. Quite honestly, the thought had never crossed my mind. I had always considered that the existence of a vagina was a simple biological fact. Now I see that I was mistaken, and realize that it is instead the beginning and end of your identity.
@Shannon, it’s a pretty religious blog. I didn’t see the original post, but if it was really detailed about sex that might have been why it was deleted.
@Michael, a little rude you think?
HI JackBorsch,
This isn’t a religious blog.
Hi Shannon,
I deleted both of your comments. Clean it up.
You may think it “telling” that masturbation isn’t discussed here. So be it.
JackBorsch,
No, not really. I was not being intentionally discourteous. Being absurd, to highlight absurdity? yes. Pointing out a hyprocrisy without mincing words? definately. But rude? no don’t see it.
Dear Reader:
Feminine and masculine was witnessed three times in 50 minutes this morning at our local Planned Parenthood.
1.10am-male and female in their 30s/40s exit PP, she looks down, looks down, she is in very bad shape, she is barely able to walk as she holds her belly, he helps her, security guard tells them have a good day, she almost swooned when they reach the vehicle, he gets her in, he gets her pink neck pillow out of the back of the vehicle to help her lay back, they drive away, they do not accept our offer of help
2.10:40am-young couple exits PP, she walks in a telltale manner, he drives, she is passenger, after they get out of driveway and on the street, she has window down, she looks at me, smiling and crying, accepts my offer of items, extends her hand, I kiss her hand, I tell her I am so sorry, I give her a bouquet of baby’s breath tied together with a blue ribbon, and Rachel’s Vineyard and NFP brochures
3.11:50am-young couple exit PP, I recognize him from his earlier walking out to his car and returning to building when he had refused our offer to help, she walks gingerly, I tell them Rachel’s Vineyard will help them, they get in car and drive away, refusing offer of our help
The feminine and the masculine.
Three couples, three Babies killed.
That is what has become of the feminine and masculine.
Lord have mercy.
The most important thing anyone can do is to support the education of Women. Am I right?
Education to me entails learning about the scientific method, for the record.
@LoveGodandAsHeLoved
I am a Woman who loves driving a stick shift. I’ve taught a few men to drive stick. Do you like driving?
@Joy
“Abortion as the number one cause of human death in African-American populations?”
Can you share some statistics? I have trouble believing this. Probably because it is untrue.
Jane: “This image that the right has of feminists . . . is irrational, outdated, and rooted in fear.”
And your view of the right is rooted in delusions about your power to be (or perhaps will to be) ”frightful” to people.
Good GRIEF.
Ashtar says:
@Joy
“Abortion as the number one cause of human death in African-American populations?”
Can you share some statistics? I have trouble believing this. Probably because it is untrue.
_______________________________________________________________
I don’t know about the African-American population, but abortion is the #1 cause of death overall in the US.
#1 Annual deaths due to abortion = 1.2 million (approx)
#2 Annual deaths due to heart disease = 600,000 (approx)
#3 Annual deaths due to cancer = 550,000 (approx)
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm
1.Ashtar-I ride a men’s bike.
2.I could not separate men and women into two competing factions.
3.God made them male and female, and it was good.