These first three weeks as a Missionary for Life I have had the great
pleasure of getting to know the organization The Susan B. Anthony List and some
of the wonderful people who work there. Founded in the spirit of Susan B. Anthony,
a suffragist who herself spoke of abortion as "child murder", the
organization has inspired me the most in this short time but its mission
statement that describes itself as "dedicated to election candidates and
pursuing policies that will reduce and ultimately end abortion".
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| on the job! |
The mission statement does not just stop
there, though, but goes on to say "the SBA List will emphasize the
election, education, promotion, and mobilization of pro-life women"
(sba-list.org). As a pro-life woman,
this is something that really got me thinking. I investigated further and found
out that this extensive support of pro-life women stems from the idea that the
pro-life woman is the ideal candidate to engage in the fight for the unborn. In
a media environment where it oftentimes feels as if women are portrayed as the
victims of pregnancy, the unfortunate group of people who must deal with the
child growing inside of them and a class of people that can only be portrayed
as strong if they are avid supporters of their right to kill this child.
The
SBA List, however, gives women a chance to speak out for themselves, to cease
letting politicians and analysts and media reporters speak for us in ways that
simply evade the truth. In my first few days of research I came across in many
different fact sheets and newsletters the breakdown between men and women's
opinions on different pro-life issues. While the media and the opposition might
like to have us think we as pro-life women are all alone in this fight, they
are wrong. So many times women felt more strongly towards pro-life measures and
against an aggressive right to abortion. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would limit abortions to before 20-weeks (5 months!) has been used by our opponents as an example of the "war on women", however last week I found out that this supposed act of the "war on women" was supported even more by women than by men! By supporting these pro-life women politicians who understand this, SBA List is allowing the real voice of women to be heard- the
voices of women who don't think their fellow sisters should be cornered into
having an abortion, who think that these children deserve a chance, many of
whom understand just how the miracle of a preborn child growing within
transforms a life.
After spending this time with the wonderful staff and interns at SBA List, I hope that I,
too can gain courage from their bold support of pro-life women in Congress and
learn from those they support so I can bolster my own strength as a pro-life
woman fighting for the rights of the preborn.
