page_title: Susan B. Anthony List
section_title: Recent history
hierarchical_section_title: Susan B. Anthony List / History / Recent history
context_page_description: The Susan B. Anthony List is a 501 non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the U.S. by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its SBA List Candidate Fund political action committee.
  Founded in 1993 by sociologist and psychologist Rachel MacNair, the SBA List was a response to the success of the abortion rights group EMILY's List, which was partly responsible for bringing about the 1992 "Year of the Woman", in which a significant number of women who favored abortion rights were elected to Congress. MacNair wished to help anti-abortion women gain high public office. She recruited Marjorie Dannenfelser and Jane Abraham as the first experienced leaders of SBA List. Dannenfelser is now president of the organization and Abraham is chairwoman of the board. Named for suffragist Susan B. Anthony, SBA List identifies itself with Anthony and several 19th-century women's rights activists. SBA List argues that Anthony and other early feminists were opposed to abortion, a view that has been challenged by scholars and abortion-rights activists. Anthony scholar Ann D.
context_section_description: Contributions from supporters grew by 50% from 2007 to 2009. As of December 2009, the SBA List had outspent the National Organization for Women in every election cycle since 1996.
  Former Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave joined the SBA List in March 2009 and works as a project director and spokesperson. The organization tried to keep abortion coverage out of any health care reform legislation in 2009 and 2010. It had targeted Senator Bob Casey to ensure abortion was not covered in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and lobbied for the Stupak-Pitts Amendment to H.R. 3962 The group criticized Senator Ben Nelson for what it called a "fake compromise" on abortion in the PPACA and condemned the Christmas Eve passage of the Senate bill.
  The group had planned to honor Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) at its March gala, but after Stupak's deal with President Obama, in which Obama would issue an executive order banning federal funding for abortion under the bill, Stupak was stripped of his "Defender of Life Award" three days before the gala because of the SBA List's doubts, shared by the most prominent anti-abortion groups, about the effectiveness of the Executive Order. Stupak had told Dannenfelser, "They [the Democratic leadership] know I won't fold. There is no way." On the day of the vote, Dannenfelser said she promised Stupak that the SBA List was "going to be involved in your defeat". In a statement, Dannenfelser said, "We were planning to honor Congressman Stupak for his efforts to keep abortion-funding out of health care reform. We will no longer be doing so...Let me be clear: any representative, including Rep. Stupak, who votes for this health care bill can no longer call themselves 'pro-life.'" No one received the award in his place, and Dannenfelser instead used the occasion to condemn Stupak. The group dropped its plans to help Stupak fend off a primary challenge from Connie Saltonstall, who decided to challenge Stupak on the basis of his anti-abortion views. Stupak later dropped out of the race, announcing his retirement from Congress.
  In 2010, the SBA List hosted events featuring prominent anti-abortion political figures as speakers, including Sarah Palin, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michele Bachmann.
  In August 2010, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, the SBA List held a colloquium with five scholars at the Yale Club of New York City, billed as "A Conversation on Pro-Life Feminism".
  An SBA List project, "Votes Have Consequences", was headed by former Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave and was aimed at defeating vulnerable candidates in 2010 whom they considered insufficiently anti-abortion, for instance those who supported health care reform. Under this project, the group endorsed Dan Coats of Indiana for Senate against Rep. Brad Ellsworth, who had voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In January 2011, along with Americans for Tax Reform and The Daily Caller, the organization sponsored a debate between candidates for chair of the Republican National Committee.
  Peter Roff writing for U.S. News and World Report credited the SBA List for the passage in the House of an amendment to defund Planned Parenthood of federal dollars for fiscal year 2011. Writing for In These Times, social media activist Sady Doyle wrote that in striving against Planned Parenthood, the SBA List registered its priority as ending abortion rather than helping women prevent unwanted pregnancies.
  In March 2011, the SBA List teamed with Live Action for a bus tour through 13 congressional districts either thanking or condemning their representatives for their votes to defund Planned Parenthood of tax dollars in the Pence Amendment. In response, Planned Parenthood launched its own tour to follow the SBA List bus. The SBA List also bought $200,000 in radio and television ads backing six Republicans who voted to defund Planned Parenthood in response to a $200,000 ad buy by Planned Parenthood against the Pence Amendment.
  In July 2011, t
caption: In April 2003, Representative Marilyn Musgrave (left) received an award from SBA List President Jane Abraham.
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