Where Does Feminism Draw The Line?

Just a week after the Women’s March on Washington, a march for women’s rights, is another, less talked-about march, the March for Life, a pro-life march in Washington, D.C., on January 27. But according to The Atlantic, a couple hundred pro-lifers are saying they will be attending the Women’s March, as well. Which begs the question of…why?

Unsurprisingly, some pro-life supporters plan to protest the march. One woman, the president of the organization March for Life, Jeanne Mancini, was originally going to attend, but now isn’t sure if she will be able to with the recent addition of principles the organizers have created for the march, The Atlantic reports. The clause in question begins, “We believe in Reproductive Freedom,” and specifically cites, “This means open access to safe, legal, affordable abortion and birth control for all people, regardless of income, location or education.” So, those who are pro-life are left in a bit of a sticky situation.

Some women do plan to come in peace, though. Whether pro-life or pro-choice, many feminists out there are simply upset by Trump’s actions and comments. The Atlantic reports that Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa, president of the New Wave Feminists, a Texas-based pro-life group, said, “I was very concerned about the fact that in 2017, our presidential candidate was such a diehard misogynist.” Clearly this is a sentiment shared by the organizers of the march — however, when does the line get crossed?

On Friday, the New Wave Feminists were granted partnership of the march with the idea that feminism is more than just one issue. Bob Bland, one of the event’s co-chairs said, “Intersectional feminism is the future of feminism and of this movement.”

But on Monday afternoon, the New Wave Feminists were removed from the Women’s March’s list of partners. The organization tweeted a statement saying, “The Women’s March’s platform is pro-choice and that has been our stance from day one…The anti-choice organization in question is not a partner of the Women's March on Washington. We apologize for this error.” You can read the whole statement below.

Perhaps the March on Washington will serve as the beginning of a burgeoning movement in which feminists across all sides of the aisle join forces, but for now, the line is being drawn at making pro-lifers partners of the march.