Last week, the National Education Association approved a resolution signaling the teachers union’s unbridled support for abortion.
“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,” reads the resolution. “The NEA vigorously opposes all attacks on the right to choose and stands on the fundamental right to abortion under Roe v. Wade.”
The NEA went on to insinuate that pro-life people are “misogynistic forces” who “want to abolish the gains of the women’s rights movement.”
Why is the nation’s largest teachers’ union voicing support for such a hot-button issue that has nothing to do with the profession of teaching? Good question. The NEA and other unions are dedicated to vocally championing the full gamut of progressive causes, despite the fact that many teachers they represent hold radically different views.
Just 41% of teachers describe themselves as Democrats, while 30% identify as independent and 27% as Republican, according to a national survey conducted in 2017 by the Education Week Research Center. Meanwhile, 29% of respondents voted for Trump in 2016 and 13% for a third-party candidate. It’s clear that teachers are hardly a far-left crowd.
Of course, unions such as the NEA and American Federation of Teachers have been supporting progressive social causes for years. The AFT has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Planned Parenthood. Their overall giving is staggering: From 2017 to 2018, the NEA gave almost $20 million in political donations. Nearly $2.5 million of that went to Democrats, while over $16 million went to liberal groups. But only $216,280 went to Republicans.
Former public school teacher and vocal defender of teachers in the face of liberal unions Rebecca Friedrichs shared her thoughts with the Washington Free Beacon:
But what outlets do frustrated teachers have if they don’t want their hard-earned money being used to fund the abortion industry? Well, thankfully, after the Supreme Court ruling in Janus vs. AFSCME, teachers are no longer compelled to pay dues to unions that champion causes antithetical to their personal beliefs. Teachers’ unions are powerful lobbies because we allow them to be — they only have power because we give it to them. Concerned teachers cannot allow the unions to continue to advance a far-left agenda while posing as a representative of our interests.
Kate Hardiman is pursuing a master’s degree in education from Notre Dame University and teaches English and religion at a high school in Chicago.
