FEMINISTS FOR LIFE CELEBRATES
SIXTEEN YEARS OF ACTIVISM FOR WOMEN

Since the Washington, D.C., office opened in 1994
and Executive Director (now President) Serrin Foster was hired to lead Feminists for Life,
FFL has successfully and uniquely worked to address
the root causes that drive women to abortion.

Through our work for low-income women:

  • FFL was the only pro-life organization active in a unique coalition of women's groups to successfully fight child exclusion provisions in welfare reform supported by President Bill Clinton and a Republican Congress. (The "family cap" was later tested on poor women and teens in New Jersey and proven to significantly increase abortions.)
  • FFL was the only pro-life and feminist group to actively champion the New York state model program to help working poor pregnant women receive prenatal care through the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) under both President Clinton and President George W. Bush. SCHIP was successfully implemented by a resolution under President Bush. FFL has continued to advocate health care for both the pregnant woman and her unborn child.

Through our work to reduce poverty among women and children, prevent coerced abortions due to threats to withhold child support, and instead encourage the active support of fathers in the lives of their children:

  • FFL was the only pro-life group to successfully advocate the Enhanced Child Support Enforcement Act of 1996, which helped streamline the collection and distribution of child support, establish uniform laws governing interstate child support cases, and expand penalties for child support delinquency.
  • FFL educated women and men to the rights and responsibilities of fathers through our "What Women Really Want" brochure as well as articles in The American Feminist® and on our website (www.feministsforlife.org).
  • FFL published the first-ever comprehensive pregnancy resource directory in the country in 1994. The self-help directory covered services in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland.
  • FFL published a "Raising Kids Cheap" issue of The American Feminist (2001; an updated version is planned for 2009), a "Take Care of Mom" issue (2004-2005), a "You have Better Choices" brochure (2008) and other resources to help women, families, educators, employers, and counselors connect women to practical support.

Through our work to prevent violence against women and pregnant women:

  • FFL was the only pro-life group in the National Task Force on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence to work successfully for the Violence Against Women Act, which was passed in 1994.
  • FFL was the only feminist group to support Laci and Connor's Law, also known as the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. C-SPAN carried live coverage of FFL President Serrin Foster as she testified before Congress in support of this Act. President Bush signed it into law in 2004.
  • FFL was a charter member of a coalition against sex trafficking. (1995)

Through our work to prevent the coercion of women into unwanted abortions:

  • FFL was the only pro-life group that worked with the ACLU to successfully sue the National Honor Society for denying admission to two teenage moms (1999) and to speak out in support of a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit in New York in 2006.
  • FFL consulted on the groundbreaking Coercive Abortion Prevention Act introduced by Michigan women legislators in 2006. The five-bill package identified very specific forms of coercion from financial threats to physical violence, which could result in jail time and/or fines.

Through our revolutionary work to meet the needs of college-age women, who are at highest risk of abortion, and redirect the debate towards action for women, through the ongoing development of the FFL College Outreach Program from 1994 to present:

  • FFL speakers delivered lectures across the country at top Ivy League, big state, women's and Catholic colleges - to positive response from both pro-life and pro-choice students and faculty. (1994-present)
  • FFL worked with both pro-life and pro-choice stakeholders to develop and launch resource kits for student leaders, advisors, counselors, health clinics and libraries.
  • FFL hosted the first-ever FFL Pregnancy Resource Forum in 1997 and developed creative tools to evaluate and spark discussion about the lack of services for pregnant and parenting students, including FFL's Pregnancy Resource Surveysm in 1998, resulting in concrete improvements on top campuses across the country.
  • FFL created a model for the future, FFLU, to give schools a vision of what could be accomplished. (2005)
  • FFL's Question Abortion® and Women Deserve Better® ad campaigns reached 5 million students from 1996 to the present.
  • FFL launched its first-ever nationwide Pregnancy Resources Survey,SM created to discover students' awareness of resources and support for pregnant and parenting students on college and university campuses, in the fall of 2007.
  • FFL released Perception is Reality, a study of FFL's first nationwide Pregnancy Resources Survey.TM This report, the first of its kind, highlights the perceptions that students have about the lack of available resources on their campuses. (2008)

A report by Planned Parenthood's former research arm, the Guttmacher Institute, revealed that in the 10 years since FFL began our College Outreach Program in 1994, there was a dramatic 30% decrease in abortions among college-educated women.

Through the introduction of legislation to put pro-woman solutions on campus into hyper-drive:

  • FFL's work inspired Michigan legislation, the Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Act, which offered an incentive to schools to provide pregnant and parenting students a single location on campus where they can acquire information about resources and support. The bill was overwhelmingly supported by Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate and was signed by the pro-choice Governor in 2004.
  • FFL worked to introduce the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Act (2005, 2007), which, if passed, would provide $10 million in grants to 200 colleges and universities for annual pregnancy and parenting resource forums and a central office to coordinate and promote ongoing resources and support on and off campus.
  • FFL held the first-ever Capitol Hill briefing on the needs of 4.5 million parenting students as well as millions of students who become pregnant and need resources and support for marital and single parenting choices and various adoption options. (2006)

By influencing the ways politicians approach abortion:

  • In 2008, both major U.S. political parties incorporated key elements of FFL’s unique message.
    • The Democratic platform was expanded to include a number of woman-centered solutions. Resources and support are, of course, at the heart of FFL's mission.
    • The Republican platform included Feminists for Life's trademark line, "Women deserve better than abortion."

By teaching pro-life feminist history:

  • The "Herstory: Worth Repeating" series in The American Feminist has been a long running educational tool both in print and on FFL’s website. (since 1997)
  • Cat Clark's Herstory of the WeekTM e-tutorial reached tens of thousands of subscribers. (2007)
  • FFL President Serrin Foster's landmark speech "The Feminist Case Against Abortion" was recognized in 2002 as one of 22 pivotal speeches on Women's Rights in the anthology series "Great Speeches in History."

By walking our talk:

  • FFL set the example for small employers and nonprofits through our telecommuting and televolunteering office.

By sharing our powerful personal stories:

  • Many FFL speakers have shared their stories in "Say NO to the Status QuoTM" (2007) and other issues of The American Feminist, as well as through a series of videos posted on Feminists for Life’s website and YouTube. (2008-2009)

IMPACT

FFL's feminist name, our pro-woman message, our demonstrated support for women and our saying "yes" to life-affirming solutions have earned us credentials with the media and the pro-choice and pro-life students we are trying to reach.

Because of FFL's message and education about our nation's rich pro-life feminist history, the pro-life movement has become better at articulating support for women.

  • Many now educate others about Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and their suffragist colleagues, who condemned abortion as exploitative and anti-woman.
  • Many are now using strategies similar to FFL's on college campuses, and some are taking direct services to the next level.
  • Others are using FFL language and strategies on Capitol Hill, at the United Nations, and even in the entertainment community.

The leadership of celebrities like two-time Emmy winner, New York Times best-selling author and Feminists for Life Honorary Chair Patricia Heaton, Co-Chair Margaret Colin and others has given FFL increased visibility and put a fresh face on the pro-life feminist movement. We are the "red carpet organization" welcoming those who want to help us redirect the polarized abortion debate toward envisioning and advocating better solutions for women.

Because of our track record and the credibility we have earned, FFL has received overwhelmingly positive press from the mainstream media - liberal and conservative, religious and secular-and pro-life press for the last 14 years. This was demonstrated vividly when FFL's connection with Jane Sullivan Roberts, whose husband now serves as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, was revealed in the press. Jane was FFL's former executive vice president and continues to serve as counsel.

FFL's message - that Women Deserve Better- - has become the rallying cry of those in the pro-life movement and the catch-phase of pro-choice activists who recognize that endless polarized debates do not help women and children. The Women Deserve Better idea is redirecting the debate towards woman-centered solutions.

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