Washington Post: A feminine face for the anti-abortion movement

This article first appeared online at The Washington Post on November 3, 2011.

A feminine face for the anti-abortion movement
By Lisa Miller

When I spoke to one of the nation’s most prominent anti-abortion activists this week, she was in the car, rushing to meet her 10-year-old daughter at the school bus.

“It’s not a very neat exercise,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, when I asked how she manages her work-life balance. Dannenfelser is the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, which has grown to 330,000 members since she and a group of friends founded it in her living room in 1991.

In the upcoming election cycle, the SBA List will contribute $11 million to the campaigns of anti-abortion candidates. Dannenfelser also has five kids, ages 10 to 19. “Child care is, you know …” She drifts off. “I get someone to help when I have to.”

Recent news stories about the new vitality of the anti-abortion movement and its legislative achievements — more than a dozen states enacting record numbers of abortion restrictions this year alone — have glossed over one crucial fact. The most visible, entrepreneurial and passionate advocates for the rights of the unborn (as they would put it) are women. More to the point: They are youngish Christian working mothers with children at home.

Continue reading at The Washington Post.

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