ProLife Feminism

Is abortion on "demand" a woman's right, or a wrong inflicted on women? Is it a mark of liberation, or a sign that women are not yet free?

From Anglo-Irish writer Mary Wollstonecraft to Kenyan environmentalist and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, many eighteenth- through twenty-first-century feminists have opposed it as violence against fetal lives arising from violence against female lives. This more inclusive, surprisingly old-but-new vision of reproductive choice is called prolife feminism. This book's original edition in 1995 offered brilliant essays on abortion and related social justice issues by the likes of suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer. A decade of activism and research since has made this second, greatly expanded second edition necessary. It not only documents the continuing evolution of prolife feminism worldwide, but more accurately represents the rich diversity of past and present women--and men--who have stood up for both mother and child. It thus is a vital, unique resource for peacemaking in the increasingly globalized abortion war.

Reviews

"The book, while lengthy, is an enjoyable, productive read. Pro-Life Feminism: Yesterday and Today includes representative samples of writings from such well-known 19th-century feminists, such as Susan B. Anthony, and modern writers, such as columnist Nat Hentoff. This not only documents pro-life feminism but gives it deserved intellectual heft."

Laura Echevarria
Today’s News and Views (National Right to Life Committee), August 15, 2006

"Because I have always considered myself a feminist, and also pro-choice     . . . I decided to read this book to see if it could/would explain the “other side’s” position. It does, to a certain extent, especially the early writings from the 18th century, along with those of Native American tribes who were early embodiments of feminism, yet also very pro-life (as we define it) . . .  The book is definitely against abortion, but it presents it from the perspective of bettering the lives of all women, including educating and developing men so that they can be equal partners with women in terms of childbearing and rearing. It is this perspective that maintains the credibility of the argument and makes one consider this rationale."

Susan Mattson
Health Care for Women International, issue 27(9), October 2006

“Prolife Feminism is an obvious educational resource for two kinds of readers: prolife readers skeptical of the feminists and feminist readers skeptical of the prolife movement. ‘Educational’ does not mean ‘boring,’ however, for the essays and excerpts are impassioned, well-reasoned, and engaging.”

Jocelyn Mathewes

Touchstone Magazine

"The women whose voices are represented in this volume challenge many of the stereotypes often held about pro-life women. Many of the contributors espouse beliefs that fall right in line with those of most prochoice feminists, except of course when it comes to the issue of abortion.  The contributors are powerful and influential women whose work spans over two centuries. They are accomplished movement leaders and activists involved in a vast array of social justice issues including racial and economic justice, environmentalism, disability rights, and anti-war and anti-death penalty initiatives."

 Sarah Augusto
Public Eye Magazine, Winter 2006

"This anthology . . . offers about 70 profiles of feminists and excerpts from their impassioned writings. They're strange bedfellows, indeed: vegans and meat-eaters, Christians and atheists, homosexuals and proponents of traditional family values . . .

They all share a belief that is heresy to some: that one cannot be pro-woman without being pro-child."

Agnieszka Tennant