At the representative assembly of the National Education Association (NEA) in Houston last week, the teachers’ union declared explicit support for “the fundamental right to abortion.” The NEA is the largest and most powerful teachers’ unions in the country with more than three million members.
During the assembly, delegates approved New Business Item 56, which states:
[T]he NEA will include an assertion of our defense of a person’s right to control their own body, especially for women, youth, and sexually marginalized people. The NEA vigorously opposes all attacks on the right to choose and stands on the fundamental right to abortion under Roe v. Wade.
The rationale included in the business item is that “the most misogynistic forces, under Trump, want to abolish the gains of the women’s right [sic] movement,” wrongly implying that abortion is a necessary part of women’s equality. But being pro-life is not opposition to women’s rights, but opposition to the violent killing of an innocent and defenseless human being in the womb. Below is a video that explains more on the history of how abortion became intertwined with the women’s movement, and it may surprise you. It reveals that it was pro-abortion men who influenced feminist leaders to add it to their platform, and this splintered the women’s movement decades ago.
READ: Pro-life feminism helps women, says UN Commission of the Status of Women panel
The same could happen with the NEA. During debate on the pro-abortion business item, EdWeek.org notes that “several members expressed concern about taking a clear position on such a charged issue, and tried to strike the language referring to abortion from the business item.” The article adds, “Some said that supporting this business item could cause educators who are against abortion to leave the NEA. One delegate said she thought the union should stick to ‘teacher things.’”
The NEA has long been accused of being pro-abortion but has refused to take an explicit stance until now. Previously, leadership for the group has stated, “NEA supports reproductive freedom without government intervention. NEA does not have a pro-abortion policy. Period.”
The Free Beacon notes that the NEA “collected nearly $400 million from American educators in 2018, according to federal labor filings. The union is also one of the most politically active in the country, spending $70 million on politics and lobbying in 2017 and 2018,” giving 95% of its political contributions to Democrats. During the representative assembly, NEA delegates heard from 10 of the Democratic presidential candidates, who all have professed support for elective abortion without restriction.
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