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Surprise! Pro-Life Feminist isn't an Oxymoron

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There was a recent discussion on the message board of this site about whether or not feminists can be pro-life.* I answered that yes, they could. Now I want to talk some more about that.

Many of us proudly claiming the label feminist-myself included-feel that Choice (the right to control our reproductive lives via family planning and access to abortion) is basic to feminism. However, we come to this conclusion because our belief system-the sum of our philosophical, spiritual, and moral convictions-is compatible with Choice. Certainly there are women who would support the feminist political movement except when it comes to reproductive freedom. In fact (as the pro-life feminist groups are quick to point out), many of the founding members of feminism-Susan B. Anthony, for example-were not pro-choice.

As I said before, I am adamantly pro-choice. I'm not going to tell you why I am here because I have no desire to defend myself here (although I may take that up in another column) since I think that those of us on opposite sides of this issue have very different belief systems. It's not worth the argument because it's unlikely that I will change the point of view of someone who is pro-life. My hope is that this article will bring feminism to women who might not otherwise claim it. While we may strongly disagree on this issue, there are certainly other important feminist concerns-like violence against women and worthy wages, for example-where we can come together.

I have decided to add some pro-choice and pro-life links that are either unabashedly feminist or at least feminist-friendly. If you discover that any of these sites turn out notto be feminist-friendly, please let me know so I can remove them. And if you know of a great site I missed, let me know that, too.

Meanwhile, you pro-choice feminists can go here.

And those of you who are pro-life can go here.

Come on, claim your feminist label and wear it with pride!

* I know people take issue with the terms pro-life and pro-choice. I am using them here because these are the terms that each group uses to describe themselves.

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