As many people are aware, February and March give us the opportunity to celebrate the efforts of those who fought for the rights of two oppressed groups — African Americans and women. February is Black History Month, and March is Women’s History Month. In February, we celebrate the birthday of an important woman, Susan B. Anthony. Feb. 15 commemorates the 184th anniversary of her birth.
Most people recognize Susan B. Anthony as a great campaigner for women’s rights. Although Susan B. Anthony did not live to see women receive the right to vote, she was indeed instrumental in helping women achieve this right with the 19th Amendment in 1920. Yet, Susan B. Anthony also spent her life fighting for equality for everyone. She believed everyone should have the right to vote. She spoke out for the rights of enslaved African Americans. She was opposed to both slavery and legal prostitution. But perhaps the most unreported significant fact about Ms. Anthony’s activism is her unconditional opposition to abortion.
Susan B. Anthony believed unborn children had the right to life, and she referred to abortion as "child murder" in her newspaper, The Revolution. She recognized the need to "eradicate the most monstrous crime" of abortion from society. It is often unreported in history that Anthony held such strong pro-life views. Yet it only makes sense that this woman who sought justice for everyone included even the smallest, developing persons in her campaign for human rights.
Susan B. Anthony believed all people should be treated equally, and she made no exception for human beings not yet born. In this day and age, when feminists and other activists pick and choose the groups of society they wish to defend, I find Susan B. Anthony’s integrity and sense of justice refreshing things to celebrate. Happy Birthday, Susan B.
Regina Kelly
Sea Bright