Phyllis Schlafly, lawyer, conservative activist, and leader of the pro-family movement, died on September 5, 2016, at age 92. According to The Seattle Times, Mrs. Schlafly died of “natural causes.”
Mrs. Schlafly, who strongly opposed the Equal Rights Amendment, endorsed Donald Trump for president in March, while at a rally in her hometown, St. Louis, Missouri. The mother of six was a highly controversial figure, who starkly opposed most feminist ideas of her time.
The Equal Rights Amendment, which was passed by Congress in 1972, states, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” Mrs. Schlafly and Eagle Forum, her conservative organization, claimed the Equal Rights Amendment had a, “hidden agenda of tax-funded abortions and same-sex marriage.” Her efforts ensured that it was never ratified by three fourths of the states and therefore never became an amendment to the Constitution.
While her family-oriented views appealed to conservative “family values” Americans, Mrs. Schlafly’s policies alienated the LGBQT community, feminists, and most moderates.
Overgeneralizing the feelings of all women, Mrs. Schlafly once said, “One reason a woman gets married is to be supported by her husband…So long as her husband earns a good income, she doesn’t care about the pay gap between them.” According to Forbes, the average woman makes 79% of what a man makes. Among others, her views ignored single mothers, who face serious consequences with lower wages than those of men in equivalent jobs, from her discussion.
Just one day after her death, Mrs. Schlalfly’s book, The Conservative Case for Trump, which she coauthored with Ed Martin and Brett M. Decker, was released. According to Amazon, the New York Times bestselling book discusses, “Why Trump’s fresh thinking on defense and foreign policy is long overdue—and could send terrorism into rapid retreat,” and, “ How Trump’s appointees to the Supreme Court (on which Schlafly advised him) could be the most consequential in a century.”
Mrs. Schlafly’s traditional vision of the American family did not match current widespread American values.
Schlafly also had controversial environmental views. She said, "Of course, climate changes…But the liberals want us to believe that climate change is also caused by gases expelled when humans burn so-called fossil fuels." Although there is debate about what extent fossil fuels affect our environment, NASA data shows that, “nine of the ten warmest years on record have occurred since 2000,” and, “Carbon dioxide levels in the air are at their highest in 650,000 years.”
Ironically, Mrs. Schlafly life in many ways exemplified the modern woman: she balanced raising six children while running for Congress, creating Eagle Forum, and writing or editing 27 books, among other things. And, like the modern feminist, “She never, ever allowed her sex to stand between her and her goal.”
Phyllis Schlafly, lawyer, conservative activist, and leader of the pro-family movement, died on September 5, 2016, at age 92. According to The Seattle Times, Mrs. Schlafly died of “natural causes.”
Mrs. Schlafly, who strongly opposed the Equal Rights Amendment, endorsed Donald Trump for president in March, while at a rally in her hometown, St. Louis, Missouri. The mother of six was a highly controversial figure, who starkly opposed most feminist ideas of her time.
The Equal Rights Amendment, which was passed by Congress in 1972, states, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” Mrs. Schlafly and Eagle Forum, her conservative organization, claimed the Equal Rights Amendment had a, “hidden agenda of tax-funded abortions and same-sex marriage.” Her efforts ensured that it was never ratified by three fourths of the states and therefore never became an amendment to the Constitution.
While her family-oriented views appealed to conservative “family values” Americans, Mrs. Schlafly’s policies alienated the LGBQT community, feminists, and most moderates.
Overgeneralizing the feelings of all women, Mrs. Schlafly once said, “One reason a woman gets married is to be supported by her husband…So long as her husband earns a good income, she doesn’t care about the pay gap between them.” According to Forbes, the average woman makes 79% of what a man makes. Among others, her views ignored single mothers, who face serious consequences with lower wages than those of men in equivalent jobs, from her discussion.
Just one day after her death, Mrs. Schlalfly’s book, The Conservative Case for Trump, which she coauthored with Ed Martin and Brett M. Decker, was released. According to Amazon, the New York Times bestselling book discusses, “Why Trump’s fresh thinking on defense and foreign policy is long overdue—and could send terrorism into rapid retreat,” and, “ How Trump’s appointees to the Supreme Court (on which Schlafly advised him) could be the most consequential in a century.”
Mrs. Schlafly’s traditional vision of the American family did not match current widespread American values.
Schlafly also had controversial environmental views. She said, "Of course, climate changes…But the liberals want us to believe that climate change is also caused by gases expelled when humans burn so-called fossil fuels." Although there is debate about what extent fossil fuels affect our environment, NASA data shows that, “nine of the ten warmest years on record have occurred since 2000,” and, “Carbon dioxide levels in the air are at their highest in 650,000 years.”
Ironically, Mrs. Schlafly life in many ways exemplified the modern woman: she balanced raising six children while running for Congress, creating Eagle Forum, and writing or editing 27 books, among other things. And, like the modern feminist, “She never, ever allowed her sex to stand between her and her goal.”
