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Feminists for Life is a US politically oriented organization advocating pro-life views, opposition to abortion and violence, and support for feminism. The honorary chair of the group is actress Patricia Heaton, two-time Emmy winner and the wife of the protagonist in the television show Everybody Loves Raymond.
Ideology
Contrary to the most visible pro-life advocates, the Feminists For Life tend to be politically independent, left-wing, socialistic, libertarian or progressive. In fact, the views of many of the most prominent in the group would be characterized as very left-wing by most Americans. The movement relies heavily on renunciation of violence in general, and often connects opposition to abortion with opposition to war, violence and animal cruelty, and even to support of vegetarianism and pacifism. The polemics of the Feminists For Life also delve heavily into support for oppressed, downtrodden or abused people such as the poor, minorities and women, and naturally transfer that same view onto abortion. The result is a debating style that relies heavily on analogical arguments.
Inspirationally, the movement ties itself in spirit to a plethora of left-wing and progressive movements, such as civil rights, pacifism, anti-militarism, animal rights, anti-domestic abuse, national independence movements, veganism and so forth. They rely on many respected historical influences, from Leo Tolstoy to Gandhi to Martin Luther King Jr. Although the preponderance of Feminists For Life would probably score on the left-wing or even far-left wing side of the political spectrum, they ultimately defy neat labels - and both relish and bemoan this fact.
At once the Feminists For Life are leftists who work against the pro-choice left and pro-lifers with little sympathy for the stereotypically conservative views of the pro-life movement.
Ultimately there is a wide range of groups working against abortion without being conservative, such as the Libertarians For Life and the Atheist and Agnostic Pro-Life League, and the umbrella National Right to Life Committee is non-sectarian and non-partisan. More broadly, there is a predominance of religious groups involved in opposing abortion, most notably Catholic but with a strong Protestant showing as well.
There is also ostensibly a great deal of pro-life sympathy within the left side of the political spectrum, from pro-life progressives like Nat Hentoff to more conservative, populist pro-lifers like former Pennsylvania Governor Bill Casey. Organizationally, the Democrats For Life is the main pro-life group within the Democratic Party political circles and is only a few years old. It has not been recognized by the national party in that it is not given a link on the Democrats' website, even though well over 100 other groups are linked. By contrast, the Republican Party does link pro-choice groups from its site, though it's arguable to what degree they have any real influence on the national party.
Feminists for Life stress the position that being pro-life is not only compatible with feminism, but the natural extension of feminist values. Although this view is seldom reported and politically out of style, it is a strong motivating factor behind the group's appeal and existence. The members of the organization say being a feminist for life "is not an oxymoron, it's a redundancy."
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