COMMEMORATING THE BIRTHDAY OF SUSAN B. ANTHONY

Hon. Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri

in the House of Representatives

Thursday, February 11, 1999

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, February 15 marks the 179th birthday of Susan B. Anthony. We all remember Susan B. Anthony as a pioneer in the long struggle for full equality for women. But what many have forgotten, or have chosen to ignore, is that for her, opposition to abortion was an essential part of the cause of women's rights. Far from being the cornerstone of women's rights -- as some mistakenly view abortion today--for Anthony, abortion was a great betrayal of all the first feminists' hoped to achieve for women. Anthony was unequivocal in her condemnation of abortion, referring to it as nothing less than "child murder." And she saved her harshest condemnation for those who would lead a woman to abortion, for she correctly viewed this as the greatest exploitation of women.

So today, Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the birthday of this great American and to reclaim her pro-life legacy as a real and essential component of full equality for women.


Source: Congressional Record: February 11, 1999 (Extensions)


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