{"id":264371,"date":"2022-03-18T10:46:02","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T15:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=264371"},"modified":"2022-03-22T13:39:27","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T18:39:27","slug":"9-women-pro-life-shaped-built","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/9-women-pro-life-shaped-built\/","title":{"rendered":"9 amazing women who have built and shaped the pro-life movement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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No matter how much abortion advocates repeat it, the pro-life movement is not simply made up of men who want to control women’s bodies. The pro-life movement is varied, and while abortion is painted as a “women’s issue,” it is truly an issue of human rights. While pro-abortion\u00a0men<\/a>\u00a0ultimately ushered in legalized abortion in the United States, many women (along with men) fueled the pro-life movement, educating Americans on the truth of abortion and saving the lives of babies and women in the process. These are some of the strong women who have built and shaped the pro-life movement.<\/p>\n

Cathy Callaghan and\u00a0Pat Goltz<\/h3>\n

In 1972, with several states having already legalized abortion, Cathy Callaghan and Pat Goltz formed Feminists for Life (FFL), an organization that will celebrate its 50th anniversary this spring. The friends met over a judo mat on the campus of Ohio State University. Callaghan was a tenured professor of linguistics and Goltz was a member<\/a> of the Columbus, Ohio, chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), which had decided to adopt a pro-abortion stance under pressure<\/a> from Larry Lader and abortionist Dr. Bernard Nathanson (who later became pro-life). After arguing that abortion violated the principles of feminism, Goltz was expelled from NOW.<\/p>\n

Together, the two women founded FFL as a grassroots, nonpartisan organization shaped by what they considered the core feminist values of justice, non-discrimination, and non-violence. For Callaghan, abortion proponents’ “pro-choice” slogan was an abuse of language. “Choose is a transitive verb,” she said<\/a>. “It requires an object. Finish the sentence \u2014 choose what?”<\/p>\n

Today, FFL continues its work<\/a> to help “free women from abortion through resources and support.” The group’s College Outreach Program works to meet the needs of college-aged women who are pregnant and parenting on campus. This age group has the highest rate of abortion, but following the launch of the program in 1994, there has been a 30% decrease in abortions among college-educated women, according to FFL.<\/p>\n

Nellie Gray<\/h3>\n