Can you be a pro-Trump, anti-abortion feminist?

Watching women around the nation rally for equal rights has been truly inspiring recently. My daughters and I have been talking a lot about how women are a powerful force for change and good in this world.

I want my daughters to know that they are alive during a pivotal moment in the feminist movement where women from all walks of life are banding together to make their voices heard.

But when I saw that the official Women's March organizers had nixed several anti-abortion groups from their partnership rosters, I was deeply bothered. I was even more irked when I read comments from women online on a Huffington Post article about the situation saying that those who are anti-abortion or who voted for Trump could not be feminists. They just can't coexist, they said.

I respect that the marches were predominantly anti-Trump and pro-abortion rights and that march organizers have every right to set their policy platform, but it doesn't sit right with me to have women excluding other women from the umbrella of feminism (or worse yet, an event called a Women's March) simply because their public policy views don't match.

Although the word "feminism" carries weighted meanings for many, at its core, feminism is the belief that women should have equal rights as men. So where does it say that all feminists have to agree exactly on how to best achieve that goal?

I don't believe that feminists have to walk in lock-step toward equality. Each woman may approach the end goal in a different way, but that doesn't make her less of a feminist or less worthy to march next to her sisters as a woman who believes she is equal in every way to her male counterparts.

Both anti-abortion and pro-abortion rights activists have varied and complicated reasons for their beliefs, but the women I know on both sides of the issue truly believe they are pursuing the course that will bring about increased safety, equality and freedom for women.

I have my own opinions on the matter, but I would never tell another woman that she is not a feminist because her quest for equality looks different than mine.

I would also never tell a woman who voted for Trump that her vote disqualifies her from being a feminist. I personally hope there isn't a woman anywhere that didn't recoil at Trump's degrading statements toward women. In the end, his behaviors toward women were too much for me, but I'm not about to declare his female supporters fundamentally unfeminist.

Feminists come in all shapes and sizes. Some are working moms while others stay home. Some don't want children, and some have 10. Some are men. The march itself was about all the different ways feminists are fighting for female equality including equal pay, stopping sexual harassment and ending media exploitation. By laser-focusing on the one abortion debate, we dilute our power and ignore the things that unify us as women.

We are united by our belief that we deserve the same rights, the same opportunities and the same voice as anyone else.

As such, shouldn't this movement be the poster child for inclusion? Rather than excluding groups from participation, shouldn't we be trying to find common ground in all areas including the debate on abortion with topics such as comprehensive sex education, affordable contraception and adoption education?

We will never find that common ground if we exclude people from the conversation.

If we start silencing the voices that don't echo ours, how are we any better than the injustices we are trying to fix?

I believe we are at a pivotal moment in history and within the feminist movement. Let's not let divisions defeat us before we even hit our stride. We don't have to agree with each other. We don't even have to like each other. But we do have to listen to each other so all the voices can be heard - equally.

Isn't that the whole point anyway?

Erin Stewart is a regular blogger for Deseret News. From stretch marks to the latest news for moms, she discusses it all while her daughters dive-bomb off the couch behind her and her newborn son wins hearts with his dimples.

Credit: By Erin Stewart For the Deseret News