The Women in White Probably Don’t Even Realize Their Cruelty

‘Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women.” That’s from Alice Paul, one of the leading suffragettes in United States history.

And yet: Not for the first time, Democratic women wore white at a presidential State of the Union address to advocate for abortion. It was a statement in favor of “reproductive rights” or “reproductive justice.” And they claim that it is in solidarity with the suffragettes, who, of course, helped ensure that women had the right to vote. But there’s a key historical denial there. The suffragettes opposed abortion.