A Women's Life is a Human Life

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Text on Button A WOMEN'S LIFE IS A HUMAN LIFE END STERILIZATION ABUSE abortion rights for ALL women
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White and pink text on a blue background

Curl Text DONNELLY/COLT BUTTONS NEW VERNON NJ 07976 copyright 1981
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On April 23, 1981, Congress held hearings for a law to make abortion illegal, which they called the "Human Life Statute." This law would have subverted the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. There were no supporters of abortion invited to testify at the hearings. Three women from The Women's Liberation Zap Brigade attended and, while antiabortion doctors were testifying, they jumped up on their chairs and chanted "A woman's life is a human life." Their claim was that the bill was inherently unfair because it privileged some lives over others, while the title tried to make it look like it did not. They were found guilty of disrupting Congress, but were given probation because the judge was sympathetic to women's rights.

Sources

Schulman, S. (2011). An interview with Sarah Schulman. We Who Feel Differently.

Weinraub, B. (1981, April 24). Senate begins hearings on bill to outlaw abortions. The New York Times.
 

Catalog ID CA0370