Right-Wing Group Falsely Claims Suffragists Were Anti-Choice
Right-Wing Group Falsely Claims Suffragists Were Anti-Choice
The conservative anti-choice group Feminists For Life (FFL) has continually claimed that it is the successor to the 19th century feminist movement. Materials on its website point to anti-abortion rhetoric by the suffragists — such as Susan B. Anthony — to support its anti-choice agenda:
But as Pulitzer-Prize winning author Stacy Schiff points out in today’s New York Times, FFL has taken the 1869 article out of context:
What is generally not mentioned is that the essay argues against an anti-abortion law; its author did not believe legislation would resolve the issue of unwanted pregnancy. Also not mentioned is the vaporous textual trail. According to the editors of Anthony’s papers, the article is not hers.
The essay was signed by “A.” Historians note that Anthony never signed her writings that way. Even if Anthony did write the article, she, like most pro-choice advocates today, wanted to reduce the number of abortions. But she recognized that restricting women’s rights through legislation wasn’t the answer.
Doesn’t look like Anthony would have been a donor to FFL.
(Pandagon has more.)
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[…] The essay was signed by “A.” Historians note that Anthony never signed her writings that way. Even if Anthony did write the article, she, like most pro-choice advocates today, wanted to reduce the number of abortions. But she recognized that restricting women’s rights through legislation wasn’t the answer. Doesn’t look like Anthony would have been a donor to FFL. (Pandagon has more.) Original post by Amanda Read More… […]
October 16th, 2006 at 2:09 pmI am not surprised about the anti-choice crowd’s taste for quote mining; they are like the creationists/ID proponents in more than one way.
And just like creationists, FFL are good at using rhetorical tools, and trying to frame the debate with strawman arguments: So what if Susan B. Anthony had indeed signed the essay? Did she come down from Mount Sinai with the article written on stone tablets? Did she write with the help of divine inspiration?
Since Ms Anthony didn’t claim to be inerrant (nor has anyone else), we are all still free to agree with some of Ms Anthony’s views and disagree with others. She was just a error-prone human being, who lived and died over a century ago.
Conservatives are, once again, projecting their own penchant to see the written word as immutable truth that must be followed without questioning.
October 16th, 2006 at 2:10 pmSo typical. Anti-choice groups are also now trying to say that we need abortion laws because abortion exploits women.
THESE groups are the ones always trying to exploit women.
October 16th, 2006 at 2:25 pmWhat I have a problem with is not whether Susan B Anthony said what they claim or not, but that it matters at all what political stance she took on abortion. Do we have to agree with everything the people we admire say in order to be right, or to continue to revere them? If you want to convince me of your point of view, then CONVINCE me. Don’t trot out someone who I admire and say “You admire her, and she agreed with us, so now you should agree with us.” If Susan Anthony did agree with the anti-abortion crowd, then find out WHY she believed that and then get back to me. This is not a popularity contest. Your argument must have merit, not just a heavy hitter.
October 16th, 2006 at 2:31 pmWell, these are the same people who have managed to twist logic so far as to compare abortion rights to enslavement of women.
Said it before, say it again: the need to project is essential to the psychological makeup of right wingers and their cousins the religious hypocrites.
October 16th, 2006 at 2:33 pmFeminism is a destructive hate movement.
The day is fast approaching where our country cannot support feminist nonsense any longer.
It would be wise for every political party to renounce feminism.
Feminism = suicide
October 16th, 2006 at 2:38 pm#6 Sam, is what you wrote a parody? Or are you just another female hating troglodyte?
Here are some dictionary definitions of feminism:
The advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. (from my Mac dictionary widget)
1. (a) The theory that women should have political, economic, and social rights equal to those of men; (b) the movement to win such rights for women. (from Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, and also in Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language)
Now tell me, Sam, which of these rights do think should be denied to women, and why?
October 16th, 2006 at 2:50 pmsam
Are you so insecure in your own masculinity that you must renounce feminism? Do you have any real idea what “feminism” really is or are you just afraid that you, yourself, could not measure up if you had to compete with a female in something? Do you really believe that America would be better by suppressing the skills and potential of at least half of its human resources (i.e. women)?
October 16th, 2006 at 2:50 pm(I am going to proceed on the assumption that Sam’s comment is for real)
Sam, having a little trouble with women in your life? Or do you even have any women in your life? Have a woman boss or coworker who is smarter and more successful than you perhaps? Have problems with your masculinity? Simply can’t get a woman no matter hard you try?
October 16th, 2006 at 2:56 pmRealScientist
October 16th, 2006 at 3:06 pmWell, it looks like sam must be sitting in a corner sucking his thumb or his mother’s breast to comfort himself rather than respond to our challenges of his idiotic post.
PLC,
I just pray that Sam isn’t locking and loading right now to kill a bunch of innocent school girls, and I say this only half in jest.
October 16th, 2006 at 3:21 pmWait a second. Schiff admitted that Susan B. Anthony opposed abortion: “There is no question that she deplored the practice of abortion, as did every one of her colleagues in the suffrage movement.†Whether a quote was or wasn’t properly attributed to SBA doesn’t change that fact!
October 16th, 2006 at 3:28 pmNeither does Schiff saying something make it mean what you want. Abortion meant something slightly different in SA’s day: a risky and mostly unnecessary proceedure done many times by people not experienced in medicine. That is not exactly the case now.
October 16th, 2006 at 4:23 pmWhat more proof do you need about the lies that Republicans tell?
October 16th, 2006 at 4:32 pm“I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.” - Susan B. Anthony
October 16th, 2006 at 4:32 pmFeminism = suicide
Comment by sam
sam,
I’ve been a feminist since I first heard the word, when I was about 12. I’ve raised two feminist sons.
Wow! Still alive.
This uppity woman is telling you to get bent.
October 16th, 2006 at 9:15 pmThose quotes must’ve been handed out at some meeting of wingnuts. I was in Barnes and Noble about a month ago and noticed a little screed titled “Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies.” I did a quick flip through and found myself looking at those exact same quotes in the section purporting to show that conservatives are the true “pro-woman” side. But even from the limited quoting and utter lack of context, it still seemed to me that Anthony (or whatever unknown who wrote it) was arguing against forced abortion, ie. where a man would get a woman pregnant and force her to have an abortion, and she’d be called a murderer, but no one would say a thing about him.
I don’t know if that was the actual point of the original article (I haven’t read Amanda’s post at Pandagon yet), but I remembered it because it was such a pathetic argument in this truly awful book (you can read part of the first chapter at the book’s page at Amazon, if you’re in the mood to yell, “God damn you’re stupid!” at the computer screen every other sentence… ;-) ).
October 17th, 2006 at 6:54 amThis isn’t a conservative vs liberal topic, it’s a pro-choice vs pro-abortion arguement. I am fairly conservative, (No not frothing at the mouth), more of a constitutionalist.
Do I like abortion, not really.
Do I think it should be banned? ? ? No. It’s not for me to decide how a person live’s their life, as long as it doesn’t interfere with me living mine.
Life… The determining word. When does life start? Biblically, life begins upon the live birth of a baby. Case in point, when handing out punishment, a person who causes injury to a women who’s baby is in her arms,a nd then dies, is punished for the death of the baby. If the baby is unborn, and the injury causes the birth to be aborted, they are punished for the injury to the woman only.
This decision isn’t mine to make, I stand on, let the woman decide for herself, if it’s the wrong decision, then let her face that judgment later.
October 17th, 2006 at 2:57 pm[…] historical figures to mislead voters into thinking a certain way. The latest group doing this is Feminists For Life (FFL). Their claim is that Feminist leader Susan B. Anthony and others wer […]
March 3rd, 2007 at 10:50 pm[…] historical figures to mislead voters into thinking a certain way. The latest group doing this is Feminists For Life (FFL). Their claim is that Feminist leader Susan B. Anthony and others wer […]
March 24th, 2007 at 6:06 pm