Equity Forward: Susan B Anthony List Can No Longer Call Itself “Pro-Life”
Anti-choice group remains silent in the face of women miscarrying in ICE detention, maternal mortality crisis
08.07.18 – Despite proudly claiming itself “pro-life,” the Susan B Anthony (SBA) List continues to show that it does not stand for the lives and well-being of women, including pregnant women, and should instead call itself what it is: an organization dedicated only to ensuring that abortion is made illegal.
The SBA List has strong ties to the Trump administration and is one of the most vocal and well-funded organizations leading the charge to overturn the landmark ruling in Roe v Wade. Just yesterday, they launched a “media blitz” pressing Democrats in Republican and Republican-leaning states up for re-election this fall to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. SBA List only seeks to “protect the unborn and their mothers from abortion,”and has a blatant disregard for the lives and well-being of women who continue their pregnancies, including those who face severe life and health threatening conditions, including miscarriage and maternal death.
“SBA List doesn’t actually care about the health and safety of pregnant women, but are rather fixated on policing our most personal, private decisions,” said Mary Alice Carter, Executive Director of Equity Forward.
“As pregnant women, specifically women of color, face serious threats to their lives and well-being, one would think a so-called “pro-life” group like SBA List would be leading the battle to remedy these crises and provide sympathy and support for pregnant women. Instead, they’ve chosen to use their resources to push for extreme policies which are deeply out of touch with the reality of women’s lives.
“Politicians and public officials who receive the SBA Listendorsement, including Brett Kavanaugh, are subscribing to this cruel and extreme philosophy. SBA List and those it endorses are not pro-life, they are anti-Roe, anti-pregnant women and out of touch with the majority of Americans, including Republicans, who don’t want to see abortion criminalized.”
Details on SBA List’s indifference to pregnant women include:
SBA List has remained silent on the grave mistreatment of pregnant women, even failing to weigh in on reports of women miscarrying in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention. Since the start of the family separation crisis, pregnant women have been miscarrying in immigration detention due to insufficient medical care. Women have reported being “denied medical care, shackled around the stomach, and abused.” While these stories were making headlines, SBA List instead took to Twitter to celebrate a recent anti-abortion amendment in the latest Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill passed by the House Appropriations Committee on July 25, 2018. DHS is one of the agencies responsible for detaining these women.
SBA List has also remained silent on maternal mortality, even in the wake of a headline-making USA Today investigation that found that the United States is the “most dangerous place to give birth in the developed world.” The report found that more than 50,000 mothers are severely injured during or after childbirth and 700 die in the United States every year. Women, many of whom are of color, are dying and suffering life-altering injuries during childbirth, mainly because hospitals are not following long-known safety measures. Instead of weighing in on this crisis, SBA List has been focused exclusively on lobbying efforts for the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, from their media blitz to hosting 26 press conferences in 7 states to participating daily in “four minutes of prayer at 4 PM for the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.”
SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser says her “perfect abortion bill” would only have an exception for “life of the mother.” In a 2016 interview with The Telegraph, SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser stated her “perfect abortion bill” would “have an exception the life of the mother only.” Ironically, in the same interview, Dannenfelser “portrays herself as a protector of lives” while refusing to make exceptions even for abortions sought due to health complications. rape or incest.
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