Pro-Lifers feminists too

In the Indiana Daily Student of Sept. 3, Indira Dammu wrote in the opinion section that pro-life Gov. Sarah Palin and feminists like her are “masterful at appropriating the word ‘choice,’ casting it as a catchall phrase for abortion. Just a few lines after criticizing Governor Palin for ‘appropriating’ words, Ms. Dammu appropriates a word herself when she says that there is no such thing as pro-life feminist. It would seem, then, according to Ms. Dammu’s definition, that only those who support abortion can be feminists. This is a slap in the face to all women who realize females have the totally unique ability to give birth to a new human life, a life which begins at conception – and who would never dream of ending one. It is shameful to suggest those women can’t be feminists, too. Many of those women are opposed to abortion simultaneously call for what Ms. Dammu equates with feminism, namely equal opportunity and access for women. It is nothing short of elitist and exclusive to say that only pro-abortion women can be real agents of change in the feminist community.

Michael A. Skaggs
IU senior