Suffragette city at the state of the union

"Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women." This quote isn't from some evangelical firebrand or conservative pundit -- it's from Alice Paul, one of the leading suffragettes of the early 20th century.

And yet, not for the first time, Democratic women wore white at a presidential State of the Union address to advocate for abortion. It was a statement in favor of reproductive rights or "reproductive justice." And they claim that it is in solidarity with the suffragettes, who, of course, helped ensure that women had the right to vote. But there's a key historical denial there. The suffragettes largely opposed abortion.

My late great friend and National Review colleague Kate O'Beirne wrote a book called "Women Who Made the World Worse." Despite the title, she made sure to include women who made the world better. She was among them. In it, she pointed out about leading suffragettes: "The Revolution, a women's paper published by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, referred to abortion as 'child murder' and 'infanticide.'" And: "In a letter to Julia Ward Howe in 1873, Stanton wrote, 'When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit.'"

The history is clear. Because of their advocacy for the rights of women, they defended the unborn.

The State of the Union spectacle was infuriating because of the comfort Americans take in letting ideology be expressed as a mere performative act. Where does that leave women and families who want to welcome life, but don't know how? Who don't have the resources?

In a country that has many people who purport to be believers in God, you would think there would be more care for the widows and orphans. And, yet, instead, there is this radical insistence on pressuring women to have abortions.

Kate quoted a rare pro-life Hollywood actress in her 2005 book. "'Abortion is a reflection that society has failed women. There is a better way, Patricia Heaton, from 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' said, in ads for Feminists for Life."

In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden reminded us yet again that he is Catholic, as if that excuses all manner of abortion expansion. Women deserve to hear about what the Church can offer them from a Catholic who truly represents it. Here's an example, from Pope Paul VI, addressing women in 1965: "You are present in the mystery of a life beginning. You offer consolation in the departure of death. Our technology runs the risk of becoming inhuman. Reconcile men with life and above all, we beseech you, watch carefully over the future of our race. Hold back the hand of man who, in a moment of folly, might attempt to destroy human civilization."

That's the challenge Kate would pose to the women in white. That's how to lead as literal or metaphorical mothers in a culture desperately in need of tenderness. That's how we should use the votes the suffragettes fought so hard for us to have. The women in white (perhaps oddly) remind me of the psalm about being washed whiter than snow. That could transform our politics. And it could radically improve the lives of young women and families today who are struggling and need more from politicians than ill-informed exhibitions in the House of Representatives chamber.

klopez@nationalreview.com