Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Feminist launches PAC for pro-lifers Date: Sat, 7 Nov 92 19:23:58 EST Message-ID: \SE A \HD Feminist launches PAC for pro-lifers \SH Sees lopsided 'Year of the Woman' \BY Valerie Richardson \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES \DT SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO - As a feminist who opposes abortion, Rachel MacNair could find only one flaw in Tuesday's "Year of the Woman" electoral triumph. All the women newly elected to the House and Senate were pro-choice. That's no accident, she says, since women's fund-raising organizations like Emily's List and WISH List refuse to support pro-life candidates. To correct what she sees as an imbalance in the ranks of women politicians, Ms. MacNair plans to launch Monday a political action committee dedicated to providing early campaign money to pro-life women. And, much to the chagrin of her pro-choice counterparts, she's calling her group the Susan B. Anthony List. "Part of our thesis is that groups like Emily's List have abandoned women who might be OK on their other issues but don't get the chance for early money because of their pro-life views," said Ms. MacNair, who now heads Feminists for Life in Kansas City, Mo. "There are plenty of women out there [with pro-life views] - they just haven't had the resources." She counts at least 250 women officeholders at the state and local levels who combine their pro-life stances with feminist records on issues such as child care, domestic violence and sexual harassment. Ms. magazine's "Election Guide to Women Candidates" listed this year 44 women running for state legislatures who support family leave and oppose abortion. "The cause of women is better served when the Susan B. Anthony List supports pro-life women," states a press release from the organization. Not all women politicos think so. Pro-choice women's groups are wary of the new PAC, seeing it as a front for a right-wing agenda, while conservative women take exception to its more liberal stand on social issues. Deborah Hicks, communications director of Emily's List, said she doubted the Susan B. Anthony List would be able to match her organization's success. "Just look at the candidates who got elected this year - they were pro-choice Democratic women," she said. Jane Danowitz, executive director of the Women's Campaign Fund, said it would be tough for the Susan B. Anthony List to straddle that political gap. "Generally these women will be treated as suspect and pawns of the far right," she said, despite their feminist views on other issues. Much as it wants to stake out a feminist identity, the new group may be forced to ally itself with the conservative movement to raise the money needed to elect House and Senate candidates, said Ms. Danowitz. "If they are able to tap into the conservative funding mechanisms, they will raise money. They will not be able to raise money from the mainstream," she said. While Ms. MacNair agreed that conservative groups may want to contribute because of the list's pro-life message, she said it would not evolve into another version of Concerned Women for America, for example. Candidates who would fit her ideal include Kansas Gov. Joan Finney, a pro-life Democrat, and retired Rep. Lindy Boggs, Louisiana Democrat, she said. "We want good records on women's rights - probably not Phyllis Schlafly," said Ms. MacNair. Candidates from the right wing "are precisely who we're not going to be supporting. The fact that they [pro-choice feminists] can't believe there are pro-life women out there with feminist credentials shows they don't want to believe it." Caia Mockaitis, spokeswoman for Concerned Women for America, agreed that pro-life women come in all political hues. "The pro-life woman is not just conservative or just liberal," said Miss Mockaitis. "We might disagree with Feminists for Life on other issues, but we can work together on the pro-life issue. "There are a lot of pro-life people who are liberal who don't have a voice," she said, citing the example of pro-life Pennsylvania Gov. Robert Casey, who was barred from speaking at the Democratic National Convention. "They've been completely shut out. Go to these women's PACs - you can agree with them on every issue, but if you're not 100 percent pro-abortion they won't give you the time of day." The Susan B. Anthony List hopes to raise $350,000 for the 1994 election cycle, the same amount raised by Emily's List in its first year. Its first big fund-raiser will come Feb. 15, Miss Anthony's birthday, said Ms. MacNair. To join, members will be asked to donate $100 toward operating costs, and then asked to pledge $100 to at least two pro-life women recommended by the Susan B. Anthony List. Why Susan B. Anthony? As pro-life women are fond of pointing out, the nation's most eminent suffragette was a staunch opponent of abortion, once describing it as "child murder." "They're pretty sneaky, calling it the 'Susan B. Anthony List,' " said Ms. Danowitz. "I'll bet if Susan. B. Anthony were voting today, she'd be voting for [California Sens.-elect] Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer," two pro-choice Democrats. Ms. MacNair is not so sure, pointing out that a direct descendent of Anthony, Eric Anthony, belongs to Feminists for Life. "People don't realize most pro-life leaders are women," she said. 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