By Samantha Kamman, Abortion Columnist
The National Education Association, the largest union representing teachers in the United States, issued a formal statement that embraces a “fundamental right to abortion” and labels pro-life Americans as “misogynistic.” New Business Item 56 declared that the 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.” This pro-abortion stance was taken further, as the statement declared:
“The most misogynistic forces, under [President Donald] Trump, want to abolish the gains of the women’s right[s] movement. Women’s leadership is essential for any successful egalitarian movement and therefore must be protected.”
Not all members were keen on the NEA taking such a definitive stance on the issue, as Education Week reported that some members voiced objections on the grounds that the NEA clearly defining their position on abortion could drive away pro-life teachers. These concerns were overridden by the majority.
This is not the first time the NEA has displayed a pro-abortion bias. The organization regularly donates to causes advocating for abortion, and has worked with groups such as Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union. According to former California teacher Rebecca Friedrichs, the goal of these groups is to “push a radical sexual agenda onto our kids and to punish teachers, parents and students who dare to speak out against it.”
Throughout the years, the NEA has attempted to deny their pro-abortion stance, but their denial in a 2005 document is less than convincing. In it, the NEA states that the union “supports the current protections guaranteed under the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.”
Mike Antonucci, writer at the Education Intelligence Agency, refutes the NEA’s pro-abortion denial:
“For many years, some NEA delegates have attempted to get the union to take a neutral stance on abortion, but have always failed.”
