A Latter-day Saint Feminist Case Against Abortion

When the news broke that the Supreme Court will reconsider the right to abortion recently, it created a wave of varied reactions amongst polarized party lines. While modern feminists traditionally have championed the cause of abortion as a means to female liberation, I';m among those arguing that abortion has precisely the opposite impact on women: it shackles them to patriarchal standards even further by erasing the central aspect of women that is uniquely feminine: motherhood. Early feminists who pioneered the right for women to vote stood firmly against abortion, but modern feminists reject this more classic version of feminism. While modern feminism seeks to advance women by fighting to secure precedents modeled by men, the feminism of Eliza R. Snow, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and others emphasized the unique elements of femininity, while also resolutely working to secure equal rights for women.