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The Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution giving women the right to vote is appropriately named the

Susan B. Anthony Amendment 

 

Susan B. Anthony and the suffragists were:

   

Pro-life on abortion

    Pro-life on the death penalty

    Pro-life on war

 

(For more information about Susan B. Anthony and her activism, please visit susanbanthonybirthplace.com).

 

PRO-LIFE ON ABORTION

 

Restellism

 

A revolutionary, radical women’s rights icon, Susan B. Anthony will forever be remembered for her dedication to the movements of women’s suffrage, abolition, temperance, and opposition to restellism. ‘Restellism’ was a term often used to describe abortion, named after the infamous abortionist of the time; Madam Restel. Susan B. Anthony’s newspaper, The Revolution, discussed restellism at length, deeming it “child murder” and “the great crime of this age.” Below is a sampling of articles, editorials, and letters published in Anthony’s The Revolution.

 

The Revolution - Volume I, Issue 14, Page 215-216

The Revolution - Volume I, Issue 18, Page 279

The Revolution - Volume III, Issue 3, Page 37-38

The Revolution - Volume III, Issue 11, Page 162,163,164

The Revolution - Volume IV, Issue 9, Page 138

 

“Quack” Abortifacient Medicines

 

The Revolution vehemently opposed and banned advertisements for “quack and immoral medicines,” that caused abortion from being published in the newspaper, despite the abundant revenue they promised. The newspaper made several official statements outlining their strict policy against such advertisements.   

 

The Revolution - Volume I, Issue 1, Page 1

The Revolution - Volume I, Issue 5, Page 66

The Revolution - Volume I, Issue 10, Page 146
The Revolution - Volume I, Issue 10, Page 147​

The Revolution - Volume I, Issue 11, Page 170

The Revolution - Volume I, Issue 12, Page 177
The Revolution - Volume I, Issue 12, Page 178

The Revolution - Volume II, Issue 20, Page 315

The Revolution - Volume III, Issue 14, Page 221

 

Other Sources Demonstrating Anthony’s Pro-Life Stance

 

In Anthony’s “Social Purity” speech on temperance, in Chicago, IL 1975, she goes so far as to equate the outrage of abortion with rape and wife-murder.

   

“The prosecutions on our courts for breach of promise, divorce, adultery, bigamy, seduction,

rape; the newspaper reports every day of every year of scandals and outrages, of wife murders and paramour shooting, of abortions and infanticides, are perpetual reminders of men’s incapacity to cope successfully with this monster evil of society.”

 

Anthony’s condemnation of  abortion was not just public but also appeared in her diary:

 

[Saturday, March 4, 1876]

Sister Annie in bed — been sick for a month — tampering with herself — and was freed this A.M.

what ignorance & lack of self-government the world is filled with.

 

[Tuesday, March 7, 1876]

Sister Annie better — but looks very slim — she will rue the day she forces nature —

 

Other suffrage leaders unanimously condemned abortion:  

 

The excerpts below are from Lucy Stone and her husband’s newspaper. Lucy Stone is considered one of the most radical suffragists for her outspoken beliefs on women’s rights and abolition.

 

The Woman’s Journal - Volume IV, Issue 25, Page 197 (June 21, 1873)

The Woman’s Journal - Volume VIII, Issue 1, Page 5 (January 6, 1877)

The Woman’s Journal - Volume XX, Issue 32, Page 251 (August 10, 1889)

 

Even this edgy, anarchist newspaper understands that men should respect women’s maternal wishes and considers abortion “inhuman” and “cruel.”

 

Lucifer the Light-Bearer - Volume XIII, Issue 1, Page 3 (June 12, 1896)

​

This piece affirms that Anthony’s newspaper was an anomaly when it came to abortifacient advertisements. Despite most suffragists’ opposition to abortion, Anthony’s paper was one of the only ones to refuse any advertisement that may cause harm to women or their preborn children.

 

Lucifer the Light-Bearer - Volume I, Issue 23, Page 177 (June 9, 1897)

 

 

PRO-LIFE ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

​

While not discussed as frequently as the condemnation of abortion, Anthony’s newspaper also opposed the punishment of death for criminal behavior:

​

The Revolution - Volume I, Issue 21, Page 331

The Revolution - Volume II, Issue 16, Page 253

The Revolution - Volume II, Issue 23, Page 362

The Revolution - Volume IV, Issue 15, Page 236

 

​

PRO-LIFE ON WAR

 

The early feminists protested war and promoted peace, fearing that until women gained suffrage, the barbaric evils of war would inevitably continue:

 

The Revolution - Volume I, Issue 19, Page 296-297

The Revolution - Volume II, Issue 22, Page 345

The Revolution - Volume VI, Issue 11, Page 170

The Revolution - Volume VI, Issue 17, Page 261

 

Other Excerpts from The Revolution
 


The Revolution - Foundling Hospitals - Volume I, Issue 12, Page 177
The Revolution - Child Murder - Volume I, Issue 10, Page 146-147

Dr. Anna Densmore - Volume I, Issue 11, Page 170
The Revolution - Volume II, Issue 25, Page 393


For more information about

Susan B. Anthony and her activism, please visit susanbanthonybirthplace.com

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