Our First Press Release: November 13, 1989

 

NEW GROUP OF PRO-LIFE FEMINISTS IN WESTERN NEW YORK CHALLENGE CUOMO'S PRO-CHOICE STAND

 

Poor women do not want to be "liberated" by Cuomo paying for their "choice" to destroy their children. New York's 50,000 Medicaid abortions gives society and Cuomo an "out" for not providing women with childcare and affordable housing.

 

Calling this "choice" for poor women is ironic since this is often the only "choice" Cuomo and other politicians give them. A $300 abortion is not a favor and it is not a "freedom."

 

A new organization of pro-life feminists in Western New York makes its debut today when Governor Cuomo visits Rochester. Its purpose is to be an alternative feminist view different from the strident and self-centered position of the National Organization of Women.

 

"We see pro-choice imcompatible with the basic tenets of feminism. Pre-born children are not the 'property' of women any more than women are the 'property' of men," says Donna Marie Kearney, coordinator for the new Feminists for Life of New York. "As women we have been oppressed in society in many ways. Therefore, we non-violent feminists believe that we cannot oppress any other group, including our pre-born children."

 

Bethanne Licata, a member of the steering committee, says, "Abortion rights has served to undermine the decision-making power of women, giving men an excuse to ignore their responsibilities for child support and for the sharing of child care. Abortion has become a 'quick fix' to make it easier for a woman to fit into a man's world. No wonder Playboy Foundation has funded the National Abortion Rights Groups."

 

The Western New York chapter is part of Feminists for Life of America, a rapidly growing national movement of women who maintain that the rights of women and the rights of pre-born children are not mutually exclusive. The local group has representatives in seven areas of Western New York, including Rochester, Auburn, Buffalo, and Seneca Falls, NY.

 

Coordinator: Donna Marie Kearney

 

Steering Committee:

Marylee Strul Ashby, Watkins Glen

Janet Bezila, Rochester

Anne Marie Bradley, Rochester

Julie Raymond Chalk, Rochester

Alice E. Gerard, Buffalo

Christine Goding, Rochester

Helen N. Holloran, Rochester

DeeDee Hopfinger, Rochester

Margaret Kearney, Buffalo

Bethanne Licata, Rochester

Myra Monaghan, Rochester

Christine Lloyd, Auburn

Dorothy Norton, Seneca Falls

Judith O'Brien, Rochester

Marie Therese Shaughnessey, Buffalo

Suzanne Schnittman, Rochester

Noelle Schum, Rochester

Laurie Symonds, Hilton

Karen Tunnell, Rochester