On Oct. 3, Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life, delivered a talk entitled “The Feminist Case Against Abortion,” hosted by the Boston College Pro-Life Club. Feminists for Life describes itself as a “nonsectarian, nonpartisan, grassroots organization that seeks real solutions to the challenges women face.” Foster has been the organization’s president since 1994.
One of Foster’s main objectives was to outline the historical anti-abortion and feminist movements in the United States, specifically through descriptions of certain 18th- and 19th-century feminists who advocated against abortion. She referenced a quote from Marriage and Maternity, an anonymous editorial published in The Revolution and often attributed to Susan B. Anthony: “Guilty? Yes, no matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed. It will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death; but oh! Thrice guilty is he who, for selfish gratification, heedless of her prayers, indifferent to her fate, drove her to desperation which impels her to the crime.”
Next, Foster addressed abortion’s legalization in America during the 20th-century. She claimed the 1967 Second National Conference of the National Organization of Woman (NOW) had their goals “compromised” by the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, now known as NARAL Pro-Choice America. In this way, legalized abortion was latched to the growing feminist movement in America, where it had not been before.
Foster then related abortion and its effects to the modern-day climate, and asserted that the proliferation of legalized abortion has harmed both men and women, specifically poor, working-class, and collegiate women.
“Three out of four women who have abortions are the poor and the working poor,” Foster said. “[Mothers] are driven to desperation because they have a lack of resources that would support choice in the first place.”
Foster also addressed the contentious debates around pregnancies in which the child is diagnosed with Down syndrome, or in which the child is conceived in rape. She stated her recognition that “people perceive their lives are going to be miserable” when their child is diagnosed with Down syndrome, but asserted that people with the condition “give us joy.”
Regarding conception through rape, Foster asserted that a person’s dignity is not dependent on his or her parents. Of these children, she said, “You didn’t deserve the death penalty. …You’re important because of who you are. …[Rape victims’] mothers should be recognized as exceptional people.”
Foster concluded her speech by identifying various ways colleges around the country—from St. Louis University to the University of California, Berkeley—have responded to her challenge to change the culture of life and the stigma surrounding pregnant students. Several campuses have taken on pro-women and pro-life initiatives, such as making family housing and daycare more accessible.
“We have a responsibility to help other people,” Foster said. “If you change the campus, you change the nation and you change the world…and it should start at BC.”
“The Pro-Life movement is often accused of focusing so much on saving the unborn that they forget the mother,” said Annemarie Arnold, President of the Boston College Pro-Life Club and MCAS ’21. “And in all honesty, these accusations are sometimes true. However, there are also many pro-life people out there working to better support mothers and fathers and families, objecting to abortion not only because our children deserve better, but also because women deserve better.”
She added, “We brought her [Foster] to campus so that BC students identifying as pro-life, pro-choice, and in between could benefit from hearing her share that message.”
Featured image: Olivia Colombo for The Torch
Max Montana is a senior studying philosophy and theology. When not writing for The Torch, he enjoys reading more about the Catholic faith and philosophy, serving the unborn and mothers in need, and hanging out with friends. Max is honored to hail from the state with many gators and the bishop of the moon: Florida.
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