They are an important part of our American heritage that merit special recognition. We, along with 68 other women on Capitol Hill, have a special role in the legacy of the early pioneers of women's rights. Whereas the early suffragettes were fighting for the right to vote, we are now serving in Congress on behalf of millions. To look at women's achievements today, it seems unfathomable that only 70 years ago, women could not even vote for president. The right to vote was the basis of a broader philosophy of the freedoms, rights and dignity of women and their role in society.
Abortion is a very sensitive topic and a tragedy for every woman involved.
This was not lost on the early suffragettes, who recognized that abortion was bad for women and without known exception were opposed to it. Today having gained the freedom to vote, women nonetheless abort approximately one in four pregnancies. While Roe v. Wade forced the states to make abortion available during all nine months of pregnancy for virtually any reason, serious consideration of problems that lead women to feel they have no other choice but to abort have been neglected. Not only did the early suffragettes oppose abortion, but most women today also oppose most abortions. But we believe this can and will change.