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The GOP’s Abortion Strategy: Why Pro-Choice Republicans Became Pro-Life in the 1970s
Abstract
When the Republican national convention convened in Kansas City in 1976, the party’s pro-choice majority did not expect a significant challenge to their views on abortion. Public opinion polls showed that Republican voters were, on average, more pro-choice than their Democratic counterparts, a view that the convention delegates shared; fewer than 40 percent of the delegates considered themselves pro-life.1 The chair of the Republican National Committee, Mary Louise Smith, supported abortion rights, as did First Lady Betty Ford, who declared Roe v. Wade a “great, great decision.” Likewise, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, who had taken a leading role in the fight for abortion rights in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s, was solidly pro-choice. Even some of the party’s conservatives, such as Senator Barry Goldwater, supported abortion rights. But in spite of the Republican Party’s pro-choice leadership, the GOP adopted a platform in 1976 that promised an antiabortion constitutional amendment. The party’s leadership viewed the measure as a temporary political ploy that would increase the GOP’s appeal among traditionally Democratic Catholics, but the platform statement instead became a rallying cry for social conservatives who used the plank to build a religiously based coalition in the GOP and drive out many of the pro-choice Republicans who had initially adopted the platform. By 2009, only 26 percent of Republicans were pro-choice.2
The Republican Party’s shift on abortion reflected the party’s struggle over issues of religion and cultural politics in ways that ultimately transformed the GOP. As long as Republicans viewed the right to an abortion as a mainline Protestant cause that was in the best interest of middle-class women, doctors, and American society, they supported the liberalization of state abortion laws. But when they began to view “abortion on demand” as a symptom of the sexual revolution, the feminist movement, and cultural liberalism, Republicans became less supportive of abortion rights, and they became more amenable to the demands of party strategists who believed that a strong stand against abortion would bring Catholics into the GOP. Abortion policy played a pivotal role in transforming the GOP from a predominantly mainline Protestant party into a party of conservative Catholics and evangelicals. Although Republicans did not perceive its importance at the time, their decision to adopt an antiabortion platform plank in 1976 created the basis for the party’s outreach to social conservatives.
Despite the importance of the abortion issue in redefining the GOP, the subject has received only limited attention from political historians. Histories of the pro-life and pro-choice movement make passing references to the Republican Party’s shift on abortion, and several studies of the politics of birth control touch on abortion as part of a larger discussion of the political debate over contraceptives. But none of these works engages in a comprehensive analysis of the debates over abortion that occurred among party leaders in the 1970s or explains the role that the abortion issue played in the GOP’s shift toward social conservatism. Nor do most histories of conservatism and the Christian Right adequately cover the subject.3 Yet one cannot fully understand the Republican Party’s shift toward social conservatism without examining the way in which the abortion issue transformed the party.
Prior to the 1970s, when abortion became a divisive issue for the Republican Party, the GOP had not seen any conflict between its support for women’s rights, including the right to contraception, and its advocacy of a Protestant-based moral order. The party enjoyed the support of an overwhelming majority of the nation’s Protestant ministers, and the party’s leaders routinely invoked the cause of God and religion in their denunciations of Communism. At the same time, many Republican Party leaders took a moderately progressive stance on women’s rights and birth control, causes that many mainline Protestant ministers supported. In 1940, the GOP became the first major party to endorse the Equal Rights Amendment. Republicans in state legislatures also led the fight against Catholic clergy to expand the public availability of contraceptives. Planned Parenthood’s Republican supporters included Senator Prescott Bush (R-Conn.) and...
... Second, relying on original archival research and secondary accounts, I argue that preexisting mass-level linkages hindered organized efforts by the early pro-life movement to enter the Democratic party or connect their cause with progressive issues. This is despite leaders of the pro-life movement's explicit efforts to do so (Williams 2016;Ziegler 2015). I then contrast the struggles of the early pro-life movement with the later success of the Christian Right. ...
... ideologically diverse group of activists, many of whom tried to connect their movement with other progressive causes and initially sought to ally themselves with the Democratic Party (Williams 2016;Ziegler 2015). However, building a pro-life movement in progressive circles meant trying to connect issues that did not already "go together" among ordinary people. ...
... Before Roe, national prolife activism rested largely within the United States Catholic Conference and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCC/NCCB). 19 Although heterogeneity exists throughout the broader Catholic Church, many leaders at the USCC/NCCB took liberal positions on social welfare programs and civil rights and vocally supported nuclear detente (National Review 1982;Williams 2016). In the 1976 election, one Ford staffer noted that the "platform statement of the USCC reads like a laundry list for a Democratic Congress, except for abortion." ...
What explains the alignment of antiabortion positions within the Republican party? I explore this development among voters, activists, and elites before 1980. By 1970, antiabortion attitudes among ordinary voters correlated with conservative views on a range of noneconomic issues including civil rights, Vietnam, feminism and, by 1972, with Republican presidential vote choice. These attitudes predated the parties taking divergent abortion positions. I argue that because racial conservatives and military hawks entered the Republican coalition before abortion became politically activated, issue overlap among ordinary voters incentivized Republicans to oppose abortion rights once the issue gained salience. Likewise, because proabortion voters generally supported civil rights, once the GOP adopted a Southern strategy, this predisposed pro-choice groups to align with the Democratic party. A core argument is that preexisting public opinion enabled activist leaders to embed the anti (pro) abortion movement in a web of conservative (liberal) causes. A key finding is that the white evangelical laity’s support for conservative abortion policies preceded the political mobilization of evangelical leaders into the pro-life movement. I contend the pro-life movement’s alignment with conservatism and the Republican party was less contingent on elite bargaining, and more rooted in the mass public, than existing scholarship suggests.
... Due to the strong effect that religion has played in prior research, both studies controlled for three well-established elements of religiosity that each independently predict abortion opposition: affiliation, commitment, and beliefs. Those affiliated with politically engaged, socially conservative denominations like Christian Evangelicals and Roman Catholics (Adamczyk et al., 2020;Jelen & Wilcox, 2003;Williams, 2011), those with more frequent religious attendance or who feel more religious commitment (Adamczyk & Valdimarsdóttir, 2018;Jelen & Wilcox, 2003), and those with stronger beliefs in Biblical literalism (the interpretative approach that the Bible is the literal word of God that features heavily in fundamental or Evangelical Christianity; Swank & Fahs, 2016;Unnever et al., 2010) tend to be more opposed to abortion than mainline Protestant people, Jewish people, non-religious people, and those who do not believe in Biblical literalism. Controlling for religiosity is also important in the context of examining racial/ethnic differences in abortion opposition. ...
... Participants' selected affiliations were grouped into 2 = Conversative Christian affiliation (e.g., Catholic, Evangelical Protestant), 1 = Other religious affiliation (e.g., Mainline Protestant), or 0 = Religious unaffiliated (e.g., Agnostic). Although these religions feature much between-and within-group heterogeneity in dogma and practice (Steensland et al., 2000), these three groups were formed based on prior research on abortion (Adamczyk et al., 2020;Jelen & Wilcox, 2003;Williams, 2011) and religion classification schemes (Steensland et al., 2000), in which we balanced grouping religions by similar abortion views versus achieving reasonable sample sizes in each group. Participants' write-in answers were coded by the first author and a religious studies scholar (e.g., "Pentecostal Holiness" was coded as "Evangelical Protestant"). ...
Attitudes towards abortion play a significant historical and contemporary role in U.S. politics. Research has documented the influence of racist and sexist attitudes in Americans’ political opinions, yet the role of these attitudes has largely been absent in psychological research about abortion. We hypothesized that racism and sexism, originating from historically-rooted stereotypes about Black women’s sexuality and motherhood, would be related to abortion attitudes. In Study 1, we recruited three samples—Black (n = 401), Latinx (n = 316), and White (n = 343) individuals diverse in age, gender, and abortion identity—to complete an online survey assessing abortion attitudes, symbolic racism, modern sexism, and religiosity. Results were consistent with hypotheses: antipathy and resistance to the equality of African Americans (racism) or women (sexism) related to individuals’ negative abortion attitudes, above and beyond religiosity, in all three samples. In Study 2, we partially replicated these findings using data from the 2012 American National Election Studies (ANES). Moreover, we extended Study 1’s findings by demonstrating that racism and/or sexism predicted opposition to abortion while controlling for political ideology among White (n = 2,344) and Black (n = 500) individuals but not Latinx individuals (n = 318). These studies demonstrated that exclusionary ideologies (i.e., racist and sexist attitudes) relate to individuals’ abortion attitudes. These findings may assist researchers and policy makers with interpreting a more comprehensive picture of the racist and sexist attitudes that individuals possibly draw upon when responding to questions about abortion, including voting, answering polls, or supporting political candidates.
... Greater knowledge about abortion has long been associated with more favorable attitudes toward legal abortion Esposito and Basow, 1995). In our study, people who relied solely on partisan news may have seen abortion content more frequently framed along partisan lines (e.g., against abortion to protect the "sanctity of human life" (Lockhart et al., 2023;Williams, 2011;The White House, 2021)] vs. in favor of choice because it is "her body, her choice" (Wicclair, 1981;Ludlow, 2008;MSNBC, 2022)). Researchers should more deeply explore the relationship between abortion knowledge, abortion attitudes, and news consumption. ...
The news is an efficient way to share information and plays an important role in shaping and reflecting cultural values and norms. However, research examining news consumption and abortion attitudes is limited. In this exploratory study, we analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of 886 US adults to assess whether self-reported frequency of news consumption—by news format (e.g., television, radio, newspaper, social media), news leaning (i.e., liberal, neutral, conservative), and total sum (i.e., total amount of consumption across leanings)—predicted abortion attitudes and complexity in attitudes. We conducted Poisson and negative binomial regression analyses controlling for demographic variables. We found that gender, political affiliation, Bible literalism, educational attainment, and abortion identity were significant predictors. While we did not observe a relationship between news format and abortion attitudes, we did find that the associations between news leaning and the total sum of news consumed varied across abortion identity. Our findings suggest that attitudes toward abortion may be differentially influenced by partisan news across abortion identity. After Dobbs v. Jackson , there is a need for advocates to tailor strategies to different sub-groups, promote media literacy, and encourage the use of diverse and balanced news sources to foster more informed views on abortion.
... In the United States, abortion was not always the extremely polarizing political issue that it is today (Williams 2011). In the era just before and after Roe, there was nearly equal support for abortion among Democrats and Republicans. ...
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade guaranteed a legal right to abortion, universal access to legal abortion has never been achieved in the United States. At the same time, the Helms Amendment, a U.S. foreign assistance policy, is keeping millions of people around the world, particularly Black and brown people, from receiving abortion-related information and services. As abortion-rights advocates in the United States look for ways to move forward in the post-Roe era, two sources can offer insights and inspiration: the inclusive, human rights-based reproductive justice framework, and some of the strategies and approaches being used to expand access in countries around the world with restrictive abortion laws.
... In response to Roe v. Wade, various groups have challenged the assumption that viability constitutes personhood, often combining religious arguments with information only recently accessible with new technological advances. Especially influential in national politics, the Republican Party broke from a historically pro-choice position and adopted a platform in 1976 that promised an anti-abortion constitutional amendment, with the assertion that the sanctity of life begins at conception (Williams 2011). This decision radically shifted national legislative politics and political culture and led to increased state-by-state legal restrictions resting on the treatment of an embryo as person from the moment of conception. ...
Building on the pragmatist philosophical tradition and work done by scholars in the field of feminist technological studies, this paper considers abortion as a case study to examine how science and technology interact with systems of knowledge, truth, and power. Paying special attention to how technological authority and notions of expertise have influenced public policy and legislative agendas, I consider the role of technological artifacts in shaping our realities and our legal frameworks. Through a historical review of changes in abortion policy and in conversation with various social philosophers, I make the argument that scientific information has not objectively informed abortion opinion and policy, but rather always been a tool of power, reflective of and contributing to larger systemic inequalities. Moreover, because the fundamentally nuanced biology of human fetal development directly conflicts with the legal and moral urge to clearly demarcate personhood from non-personhood, I outline why any attempts to define personhood or viability based purely on biological evidence is arbitrary, deceptive, and ultimately inappropriate. For this reason, I conclude by advocating for the use of a more contextual approach to policy making, considering larger sociopolitical dynamics of gendered power and oppression as well as the lived experiences of those impacted directly by the legislation. In the current political moment, technology is playing an increasingly large role in our lives, and access to abortion and reproductive rights are being actively threatened by those in the highest ranks in the US government. This paper attempts to provide a deeper understanding of the philosophical journey our society took to reach this junction and suggest a better path forward, centering the values of democracy, dignity, and justice.
... Many authors have written about the complex history of abortion in the US (e.g., Reed 1995;Williams 2011Williams , 2015. For the purposes of this article, this brief discussion will cover the history of the abortion and birth control debates and religious activism in the US after WWII and will focus on the first major legislation regarding abortion to better prepare for a look into the denominational responses. ...
With religion serving an important role in shaping individuals’ stances on moral issues, the question of how religion impacts major social and political issues is of undeniable consequence. This paper explores both the response of Christian denominations in the USA to the evolving social dialog on abortion and the stances of affiliated members in relation to those denominational stances. For the first aspect, the organizational and authority structures of the denominations in question were examined to see if they play a role in how denominations responded to this social issue. For the second aspect, General Social Survey data were used to examine the general stances on abortion of the religiously affiliated belonging to specific polities over the past half-century. Polities were selected due to their similar organizational structures, as this granted insight into possible organizational influence at the individual level. This research highlights both the dissimilarities between similarly structured religious organizations and the general mindsets of the congregations on abortion as well as how the varying organizational structures in question exhibit inherent differences between one another yet have relative stability in their positions on abortion over time.
... Identity alignment is used by identity entrepreneurs who broaden their appeal by increasing perceptions of group coherence and hierarchical stability (Hogg & Gøtzsche-Astrup, 2021), where populist leaders coordinate and represent particular subgroup norms as part of the national identity (McCoy et al., 2018). For example, Republican identity alignment with the religious rightwing by negotiation of "pro-life" as a value and policy (Williams, 2011) or the simplification of class identity to the more exclusive "White working class" (i.e., denoting racial privilege; Mondon & Winter, 2019). This would appeal to collective narcissists, for instance, US collective narcissists are likely to agree that historically dominant groups are most ingroup prototypical (and so most deserving; see Golec de Zavala et al., 2019). ...
The storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and voter intimidation by Donald Trump's supporters have marked significant upheaval in American democracy. In two cross‐sectional studies and one experiment, we tested the proposition that American collective narcissism is associated with support for populist leadership (particular, their message of renewed ingroup recognition) to the point of disregard for democratic procedures. In Study 1, conducted just before the 2020 presidential elections, we examined the association of American collective narcissism with support for Trump's re‐election even if he was to violate the democratic procedures while securing it. In pre‐registered Study 2, conducted just after the Capitol attack, we examined the association between American collective narcissism and support for the attacks. In Study 3, we experimentally examined a more general proposition that collective narcissism is associated with support for populist leaders and lack of support for democratic procedures, in a minimal group setting deprived of any associations with a particular political context. The results of the three studies converge to indicate that collective narcissism is most strongly (beyond variables commonly implicated in support for right‐wing populism) associated with populist leadership to the extent of disregarding democratic norms.
... Social identities vary in content, for instance, in the interpretation of the group's history and defining qualities (Ashmore et al., 2004;Pehrson et al., 2009), emotions (Smith & Mackie, 2015), values and traits (Pagliaro et al., 2011;Turner-Zwinkels et al., 2015). It is expected that collective narcissism would be associated with social identity content that serves to legitimise group inequality, for example, a religious content which motivates sexism against women perceived to destabilize the group (Golec de (Williams, 2011) or the simplification of class identity to the more exclusive ‗white working class' (i.e., denoting racial privilege; Mondon & Winter, 2019). ...
The storming of the US Capitol and voter intimidation by Trump supporters has marked significant upheaval in American democracy. In three cross-sectional studies, we test the proposition that collective narcissism is associated with support for a populist leader to the point of disregard for democratic procedures and hostility towards others. In Study 1, conducted just before the 2020 Presidential elections, we examined the association of American collective narcissism with support for Trump’s presidency even if Donald Trump was to violate the democratic procedures while securing the re-election. In Study 2, conducted just after the Capitol attack, we examined the association between American collective narcissism and support for the attacks. In Study 3, we examined whether collective narcissism was associated with support for a populist leader, disregarding democratic procedures, in a minimal group setting deprived of any associations with particular political context. The results of the three studies converge to indicate that collective narcissism is most strongly (beyond variables commonly implicated in support for right-wing populism) associated with populist leadership to the extent of disregarding democratic norms. The narcissistic conception of the national ingroup is essential to our understanding of right-wing populism and its reactionary movements.
... Prior to the Court's ruling in Roe in 1973, some states had begun the process of liberalizing abortion laws that both criminalized the procedure but placed discretionary power in the hands of doctors and hospitals (Luker 1985;Munson 2018;Williams 2011). In a reversal of the present-day alignment, and a sign of the importance of the need to understand changes in larger political context to understand abortion politics, these early moves towards liberalization were often championed by the Republican Party. ...
Abortion’s centrality to the Christian Right, together with that movement’s importance to Republican Party politics, as well as the policy realities of abortion, have all combined to make regulating abortion a fixture within U.S. state politics for decades. While the levels and forms of state activity have varied since the 1980s, the Trump presidency has produced strategic changes in the content and perceived importance of abortion policy. Notably, recent changes in the state politics of abortion have not just been on the side of Republican states restricting abortion access, the most traditional and highest profile form of policy activity in this area, but have also taken the form of Democratic states actively defending abortion access. This article provides an overview of the interrelated changes in party politics, perceptions of political opportunities, and the content of state abortion regulations. It concludes that the frequency of state abortion laws has increased modestly during the Trump presidency, but substantive shifts in recent policies create the potential to fundamentally reorganize state and national abortion politics.
... Ronald Reagan, who was a high-profile ally for the pro-life movement, spent the late 1970s honing a new form of conservative rhetoric that emphasized both social and economic issues. In 1976, as a concession to Reagan's supporters, the Republican Party Platform included a plank endorsing anti-abortion efforts to amend the US Constitution (Williams, 2011). In 1980, Republicans supported the appointment of judges who respected the "sanctity of human life" (Republican Party Platform, 1980). ...
... Gerald Ford followed suit. When Ronald Reagan sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1976 he outflanked Ford, calling not merely for overturning Roe, but for a ban on abortions, repudiating his prior stand (Williams 2011). Even three years after Roe, Catholics were still seen as the chief antiabortion constituency. ...
We argue that the effect of legislators' personal background on their policy stands may vary over time. We discuss several means by which this may occur. We then illustrate this process with the case of abortion politics in California from the 1960s through the 1990s. Using newly collected evidence on Assemblymembers' and constituents' religion and voting patterns, we show that divisions in the State Assembly on abortion were chiefly religious at first, but later became highly partisan. This shift was distinct from overall polarization, and not a result of district-level factors or "sorting" of legislators by religion into party caucuses. Instead, growing ties between new movements and parties, feminists for Democrats, and the Christian Right for the Republicans, made party affiliation supplant religion as the leading cue for legislators on abortion, impelling many incumbents to revise their positions. Examining how personal characteristics become outweighed by partisan considerations as issues evolve advances understanding of party position change and polarization and contributes to the literature on representation. 1 In this paper, we explore the shifting importance of legislators' personal background characteristics for their position taking. When issues are new on the agenda,
... Despite wellobserved ties between US and UK women's organizations and parties of the left Young, 2000), the women's movement has at times distanced itself from political parties (Gelb, 1986), emphasizing its non-partisan character (Sapiro, 1986). 1 Moreover, the received wisdom that feminists are natural allies of leftist parties has not always been borne out by historical analysis (Cott, 1984). Women have long been active within conservative movement politics (Schreiber, 2014), whilst party ideology on women's rights can change: for instance, the Republicans used to be more pro-choice and more supportive of campaigns for the Equal Rights Amendment than the Democrats (Williams, 2011;Wolbrecht, 2000: 3). 2 However, during periods of partisan polarization leftist parties are traditionally more sympathetic to women's concerns, for instance during the Reagan and Thatcher administrations . The parallel with today's partisan context, particularly in the United States, is striking. ...
... Despite wellobserved ties between US and UK women's organizations and parties of the left (Lovenduski and Randall, 1993;Young, 2000), the women's movement has at times distanced itself from political parties (Gelb, 1986), emphasizing its non-partisan character (Sapiro, 1986). 1 Moreover, the received wisdom that feminists are natural allies of leftist parties has not always been borne out by historical analysis (Cott, 1984). Women have long been active within conservative movement politics (Schreiber, 2014), whilst party ideology on women's rights can change: for instance, the Republicans used to be more pro-choice and more supportive of campaigns for the Equal Rights Amendment than the Democrats (Williams, 2011;Wolbrecht, 2000: 3). 2 However, during periods of partisan polarization leftist parties are traditionally more sympathetic to women's concerns, for instance during the Reagan and Thatcher administrations (Bashevkin, 1994). The parallel with today's partisan context, particularly in the United States, is striking. ...
Western political parties have been in decline in recent decades and they continue to be viewed as male institutions. Despite this, electoral politics is important to the women’s movement as a means by which to advance feminist interests. This article builds upon feminist critiques of political parties by analyzing original qualitative data undertaken with feminists in the United States and United Kingdom in order to explore how activists view political parties. The research finds that although many hold negative views, in line with broader debates concerning disengagement, they also recognize the importance of electoral politics and the need to work with individual politicians. Party and feminist ideology shapes those views, whereby politicians on the left are viewed as feminist allies and those on the right are framed as strategic partners.
... Ainsi, malgré une base religieuse moins large au sein de la population, par rapport aux États-Unis (Gallup, 2010) (Fourest, 2001;Williams, 2011 ;Bindley, 2013). Tout comme en Grande-Bretagne, le fait que les partis politiques ne saisissent pas l'enjeu de l'avortement affaiblit le mouvement (Soper, 1994). ...
Enjeux éthiques de l'intervention auprès de femmes vivant une grossesse imprévue au Québec Discours et pratiques de ressources anti-‐choix et pro-‐choix RAPPORT DE RECHERCHE Par Audrey Gonin, Véronique Pronovost et Mélissa Blais, en partenariat avec la Fédération du Québec pour le planning des naissances
This analysis investigates favorable racial attitudes toward blacks. Blacks and educated politically progressive whites tend to have such favorable attitudes. Due to cultural polarization, the rejection of conservative Christians may be tied to favorable racial attitudes among educated progressive whites. This study examines the possibility that political identity and religious outgrouping are connected to favorable racial attitudes of educated progressive whites. The dataset is drawn from the 2020 American National Elections Survey, a nationally representative survey in the United States that asks about a range of political issues and attitudes ( n = 8,178). The key construct of interest is racial attitudes, specifically favorable attitudes toward black Americans. This is measured as an index of five questions regarding survey respondent views of black hiring preferences, special favors, slavery difficulties, deservingness, and trying hard. Attitudes of warmth toward conservative Christians are inversely related to supporting favorable racial attitudes among educated white progressives. However, warmth toward conservative Christians are not related to favorable racial attitudes among black Americans. Favorable racial attitudes can result from outgrouping needs of perceived politically and religiously abhorrent social identities. Polarization may result in educated political progressives supporting blacks.
One of the most dramatic shifts in party identification in the 20th century is the shift of cultural conservatives from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. Many political scientists argue that party change originates with politicians, but the present research shows that social and interest group leaders were the primary agents responsible for realignment. Not only did they prod the Republican Party to move in their direction by influencing nominating contests, but they helped cultural conservatives and other kinds of conservatives fit together. Politicians were reluctant to alienate existing voters and interests, and therefore less important in party transformation. Using primary sources from interest groups, social groups, and politicians, my research traces the process by which these groups changed the Republican Party coalition.
This article examines the political alignment and voting behavior of major American religious traditions in 1992. We discover that evangelical Protestants solidified their growing Republican proclivities of recent decades, becoming a core voting bloc within the GOP coalition. Mainline Protestants, traditionally at the center of the Republican party, deserted President Bush in large numbers for Clinton and Perot, while many Catholic voters returned to their former Democratic allegiance. The expanding bloc of secular voters provided strong additional support for Democratic candidates and liberal policies. In conclusion, we speculate on the emergence of a different kind of ethnoreligious alignment in electoral politics.
This article examines the role of party activists in the partisan evolution of the abortion issue. Previous research indicates that party elites—specifically members of Congress—and partisans in the mass public have become more differentiated in their abortion attitudes during the last several decades with Democrats becoming more pro-choice and Republicans becoming increasingly pro-life. The missing piece of the picture is the behavior of party activists. Accordingly, this research examines the changes in the abortion attitudes of two groups of party activists during the last three decades: campaign activists and national convention delegates. From 1972 to 1980 there were no significant differences in the abortion attitudes of Republican and Democratic campaign activists, and the mean positions of the two parties' national convention delegates did not differ greatly. However, since 1984 there has been a growing differentiation in the abortion positions of both groups of party activists. Now Democratic activists are consistently pro-choice while Republican activists are equally pro-life. This evidence indicates that the differentiation on the abortion issue that has only recently emerged among partisans in the mass public was predated by an earlier and much more dramatic polarization that had already developed among party activists and elites, thus supporting a model of issue evolution introduced by Carmines and Stimson in their study of racial issues. We also find that citizens' abortion attitudes have become increasingly correlated with party voting not just in presidential elections but also in House, Senate, and gubernatorial contests during this period as well as being more closely related to political ideology. All of this evidence points to the growing extent to which abortion has become a partisan issue in American politics and the key role that party activists have played in this process.
Introduction: What Is Reproductive Politics? 1 Racializing the Nation: From the Declaration of Independence to the Emancipation Proclamation, 1776-1865 2 Sex in the City: From Secrecy to Anonymity to Privacy, 1870s to 1920s 3 No Extras: Curbing Fertility during the Great Depression 4 Central Planning: Managing Fertility, Race, and Rights in Postwar America, 1940s to 1960 5 The Human Rights Era: The Rise of Choice, the Contours of Backlash, 1960-1980 6 Revitalizing Hierarchies: How the Aftermath of Roe v. Wade Affected Fetuses, Teenage Girls, Prisoners, and Ordinary Women, 1980 to the Present Notes Acknowledgments Index About the Author
Using Carmines and Stimson's issue evolution model of partisan change, I argue that the abortion issue has transformed the two major United States political parties and that this process follows a predictable pattern, as outlined by Carmines and Stimson. By applying the theory of issue evolution to abortion, I develop three hypotheses: 1) The reputation for each party's stance on abortion among party elites has grown clearer and more distinct over the last 20 years; 2) At the mass level, people have changed their party identification in a manner consistent with their attitudes on abortion; 3) The changes among party elites and masses are causally connected, with elite-level changes producing mass-level responses. Simple time series analyses are used on two datasets, roll call votes on abortion in the United States Congress and public opinion polls from General Social Surveys, 1972-94. Democrats and Republicans shift dramatically on the abortion issue at both the elite and mass levels. Moreover, this change closely follows with the issue evolution model. The process unfolds gradually, and causality appears to run from elites to masses, rather than from masses to elites.
The politics of the last quarter century in the United States cannot be fully understood without reference to culturalreligious conservatives defend traditional values such as patriarchy and sexual abstinence for the unmarried, while culturalreligious dimension. Although they have not replaced the older economic issues associated with the New Deal party system, cultural–religious issues coexist with them and have transformed the contemporary US political agenda by disrupting older coalitions and creating new coalitions and cleavages.
"Without question people's positions on abortion are shaped by a myriad of social, moral, and economic factors. But ultimately abortion policy is shaped in the political arena. This book examines how one of the most intimate decisions a woman makes, whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy, has become one of the most politicized issues in contemporary American politics." ââ¬âFrom the Introduction Few issues in contemporary U.S. politics have remained on the public agenda so long and so divisively as abortion policy. The landmark Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade, which held that laws prohibiting first trimester abortions were illegal because they violated a woman's right to privacy, still generates heated controversy today, a quarter of a century after it was made. The seeds of that controversy were sown in the seven years immediately preceding Roe, when state legislatures tried to reconcile religious opposition to abortion and individuals' civil liberties. In this ground-breaking book, Rosemary Nossiff examines the forces that shaped abortion policy during those years, and the ways in which states responded to them. To provide the in-depth analysis while still looking broadly at the picture, she studies New York, which passed the most permissive abortion bill in the country, and Pennsylvania, which passed one of the most restrictive. That these two states, which share similar demographic, political, and economic characteristics, should reach two such different outcomes, provides a perfect case study for observing political dynamics at the state level. Professor Nossiff examines the medical, religious, and legal discourses employed on both sides of the debate, as well as the role played by feminist discourses. She looks at the role of the political parties in the campaigns, as well as such interest groups as the National Council of Catholic Bishops, the Clergy Consultation Service, the National Organization for Women, and the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws. In addition, she analyzes the strategies used by both sides as well as partisan and institutional developments that facilitated success or failure. Finally, in the Epilogue, she assesses the Roe decision and its aftermath, including an analysis of the pro-life movement in Pennsylvania. As the author remarks, "Without questions people's positions on abortion are shaped by a myriad of social, moral, and economic factors. But ultimately abortion policy is shaped in the political arena. This book examines how one of the most intimate decisions a woman makes, whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy, has become one of the most politicized issues in contemporary American politics." "Rosemary Nossiff has done a great service by putting the ongoing abortion debate into the appropriate historical context. Her careful studyââ¬âwhich clearly explicates the roles of all the institutional actors in the pre-Roe policy making processesââ¬âmakes this an important book for anyone, from lay reader through professional scholar, seeking a clear understanding of this issue that has polarized American society for nearly two decades." ââ¬âL. Sandy Maisel, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government, Colby College "An insightful study into the politics behind the abortion debate. By comparing how Pennsylvania and New York re-examined their abortion laws, and why these neighboring states went in different directions, Nossiff shows how important the political context is to the creation of public policy." ââ¬âJo Freeman, political scientist, attorney, and author of A Room at a Time: How Women Entered Party Politics
Data collected in the National Election Survey from 2248 respondents before the 1976 U.S. presidential election and from 1909 respondents following the election was used to examine the impact of the abortion issue on the election outcome. Analysis revealed that despite the wide news coverage given to the issue and the intense effort on the part of the National Council of Catholic Bishops to politicize the abortion issue, voters gave little priority to the abortion issue. Less than 1/2 of 1% of the votes cast by the respondents could be accounted for by the voter's opinion on abortion. Although both Carter and Ford opposed a constitutional amendment restricting abortion, Ford's position was closer to the position of the pro-life groups than Carter's position. When other factors were controlled, 47.7% of the respondents who were opposed to abortion for any reason voted for Carter and 54.4% of those who though abortion should never be forbidden voted for Carter. These findings indicated that there was a relationship between voting behavior and abortion attitudes but that the relationship was very mild. Abortion was certainly not a major issue in the minds of the voters. When the respondents were asked to name the 3 major issues in the campaign only 1/10 of 1% mentioned the abortion issue. The prediction was made that the pro-life groups would attempt to make abortion an issue in subsequent elections but that the major impact of this effort would be felt only at the local level and not at the federal level.
Two surveys of white American Protestants and Roman Catholics during 1962 and 1975 asked three questions dealing with the legalization of abortion. The data indicate that there has been a slight Protestant-Catholic decrease in attitudinal differences. Nearly all Protestant categories became more favorable toward abortion. By contrast, the Catholics who became relatively more accepting of abortion were primarily those who were young.
The U.S. government position on world population growth as it emerged in the early 1960s was a fundamental departure in both content and commitment. We embraced the idea that one of the goals of American foreign policy should be the simultaneous reduction of both mortality and fertility across the Third World. It was not simply rhetoric. As the years passed, we committed a growing portion of our foreign aid to that end. The decision to link U.S. foreign-policy objectives with the subsidy of family planning and population control was truly exceptional in that it explicitly aimed at altering the demographic structure of foreign countries through long-term intervention. No nation had ever set in motion a foreign-policy initiative of such magnitude. Its ultimate goal was no less than to alter the basic fertility behavior of the entire Third World! Whether one views this goal as idealistic and naive or as arrogant and self-serving, the project was truly of herculean proportions.
Feminism and Conservatism from Suff rage Th rough the Rise of the New Right ( Chapel Hill , 2006 ), 205 ; Tanya Melich , Th e Republican War Against Women: An Insider's Report from Behind the Lines Betty Ford Would Accept ' An Aff air' by Daughter Gallup Poll Shows More 'Pro-Life' Backing
- Catherine E Rymph
Catherine E. Rymph, Republican Women: Feminism and Conservatism from Suff rage Th rough the Rise of the New Right ( Chapel Hill, 2006 ), 205 ; Tanya Melich, Th e Republican War Against Women: An Insider's Report from Behind the Lines ( New York, 1996 ), 53 ; UPI, " Betty Ford Would Accept ' An Aff air' by Daughter, " New York Times, 11 August 1975; " Gallup Poll Shows More 'Pro-Life' Backing, " Washington Times, 16 May 2009.
Th e Politics of Abortion and Birth Control in Historical Perspective
- Intended Critchlow
- Consequences
- T Donald
- Critchlow
Critchlow, Intended Consequences ; Donald T. Critchlow, ed., Th e Politics of Abortion and Birth Control in Historical Perspective ( University Park: Pa., 1996 ) ;
Th e Moral Property of Women: A History of Birth Control Politics in America
- Linda Gordon
Linda Gordon, Th e Moral Property of Women: A History of Birth Control Politics in America, 3rd ed. ( Urbana, 2002 ) ;
Lutheran Church Prepares Sex Guide: Draft OKs Th erapeutic Abortion Minneapolis Star Nevada Churches Back Abortion Bill Oakland Tribune Baptists and Abortion Laws Articles of Faith: A Frontline History of the Abortion Wars
- Ben L Kaufman
Ben L. Kaufman, " Lutheran Church Prepares Sex Guide: Draft OKs Th erapeutic Abortion, " Minneapolis Star, 7 May 1966 ; " Nevada Churches Back Abortion Bill, " Oakland Tribune, 10 December 1966; " Baptists and Abortion Laws, " San Francisco Chronicle, 24 October 1966; Nossiff, Before Roe, 49; Cynthia Gorney, Articles of Faith: A Frontline History of the Abortion Wars ( New York, 1998 ), 67 –72.
Years of Political Impact Religious Voting Blocs in the 1992 Election: Th e Year of the Evangelical American Catholic: Th e Saints and Sinners Who Built America's Most Powerful 536 | The GOP's Abortion Strategy Church
- George J Marlin
- A Lyman
- Kellstedt
George J. Marlin, Th e American Catholic Voter: 200 Years of Political Impact, 2nd ed. ( South Bend, 2006 ), 271 ; Lyman A. Kellstedt et al., " Religious Voting Blocs in the 1992 Election: Th e Year of the Evangelical? " Sociology of Religion 55 ( 1994 ): 311 ; Charles R. Morris, American Catholic: Th e Saints and Sinners Who Built America's Most Powerful 536 | The GOP's Abortion Strategy Church ( New York, 1997 ), 365 ; Garrow, Liberty and Sexuality, 288–89, 418–21;
Md Bishops Attack Abortion Plan Abortion Bill Killed—Catholic Pressure San Francisco Chronicle Reagan Reluctantly Signs Bill Easing Abortions Colorado Eases Abortion for Cause Impetus for Reform
- William R Mackaye
William R. MacKaye, " Md. Bishops Attack Abortion Plan, " Washington Post, 25 July 1967 ; " Abortion Bill Killed—Catholic Pressure, " San Francisco Chronicle, 4 June 1965; " Reagan Reluctantly Signs Bill Easing Abortions, " New York Times, 16 June 1967; " Colorado Eases Abortion for Cause, " Washington Post, 26 April 1967; " Impetus for Reform, " New York Times, 21 February 1967; Lou Cannon, Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power ( New York, 2003 ), 208 –13.
Roe v. Wade " and Its Aft ermath
- Eva R Rubin
- Abortion
- Politics
Eva R. Rubin, Abortion, Politics, and the Courts: " Roe v. Wade " and Its Aft ermath, 2nd ed. ( Westport, Conn., 1987 ), 23 – 24, 27 ; Garrow, Liberty and Sexuality, 369–71.
Middle America [1 of 2] " folder, box 8, Harry S. Dent Files, Nixon Presidential Library The Catholic Voter in American Politics: The Passing of the Democratic Monolith
- Harry Dent
- Richard Nixon
Harry Dent to Richard Nixon, 13 October 1969, " 1970 Middle America [1 of 2] " folder, box 8, Harry S. Dent Files, Nixon Presidential Library, Yorba Linda, Calif.; William B. Prendergast, The Catholic Voter in American Politics: The Passing of the Democratic Monolith ( Washington, D.C., 1999 ), 155 –59.
Moral Property of Women , 289 Population Student: John Davison Rockefeller 3d
- Gordon
Gordon, Moral Property of Women, 289; " Population Student: John Davison Rockefeller 3d, " New York Times, 17 March 1970; James Reston, " Nixon and Muskie on Abortion, " New York Times, 7 April 1971.
Alone in the White House
- Richard Reeves President
- Nixon
Richard Reeves, President Nixon: Alone in the White House ( New York, 2001 ),
President's Handwriting folder, box 10, White House Staff Files (WHSF), President's Offi ce Files, Nixon Presidential Library February 1972 " folder, box 131, Charles Colson Files, WHSF, Nixon Presidential Library; Taped con-versation between Nixon and Colson
- Patrick J Buchanan
- Richard Nixon
Patrick J. Buchanan to Richard Nixon, 19 April 1971, " President's Handwriting, April 16 thru 30, 1971 " folder, box 10, White House Staff Files (WHSF), President's Offi ce Files, Nixon Presidential Library; Charles Colson to Peter Flanigan, 18 February 1972, " February 1972 " folder, box 131, Charles Colson Files, WHSF, Nixon Presidential Library; Taped con-versation between Nixon and Colson, 5 April 1972, Tape EOB 330-17, Nixon White House Tapes, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Nixon and Muskie on Abortion
- Reston
Reston, " Nixon and Muskie on Abortion, " 43; Richard Nixon, Statement on Abortion, 3 April 1971, " John Ehrlichman [2 of 2] " folder, box 7, Colson Files, WHSF, Nixon Presidential Library.
John Ehrlichman [2 of 2] " folder, box 7, Colson Files, WHSF, Nixon Presidential Library Nixon Aides Explain Aims of Letter on Abortion Law
- Richard Nixon
- Terence Cardinal
- Robert B Semple
- Jr
Richard Nixon to Terence Cardinal Cooke, 5 May 1972, " John Ehrlichman [2 of 2] " folder, box 7, Colson Files, WHSF, Nixon Presidential Library; Robert B. Semple Jr., " Nixon Aides Explain Aims of Letter on Abortion Law, " New York Times, 11 May 1972.
Nixon Rejects Population Panel Advice President Bars Birth Curb Plans
- Harry F Rosenthal Robert
- B Semple
- Jr
Harry F. Rosenthal, " Nixon Rejects Population Panel Advice, " Washington Post, 6 May 1972 ; Robert B. Semple Jr., " President Bars Birth Curb Plans, " New York Times, 6 May 1972.
McGovern's 'Radical' Views AttackedRadical' Issue Hits McGovern McGovern Victor over Humphrey in Nebraska Vote
- Rowland Evans
- Robert Humphrey
- Surge
Rowland Evans and Robert Novak, " Behind Humphrey's Surge, " Washington Post, 27 April 1972 ; Mary Russell, " McGovern's 'Radical' Views Attacked, " Washington Post, 6 May 1972 ; Don Oberdorfer, " 'Radical' Issue Hits McGovern, " Washington Post, 9 May 1972; Anthony Ripley, " McGovern Victor over Humphrey in Nebraska Vote, " New York Times, 10 May 1972. daniel k. williams | 537 19. Tape recording of conversation between Richard Nixon and Charles Colson, Executive Offi ce Building, 5 April 1972, Tape EOB 330-17, Nixon White House Tapes, NARA; Tape recording of conversation between Richard Nixon and H. R. Haldeman, 10 April 1972, Tape Oval 705-3, Nixon White House Tapes; Smith Hempstone, " Nixon, the Catholic Vote and the Megastates, " Washington Star, 14 June 1972.
Th e Murder of the Helpless Unborn For evangelical opposition to abortion in the early 1970s Is Life Ever Cheap? " Eternity
- John R Rice
John R. Rice, " Th e Murder of the Helpless Unborn, " Sword of the Lord, 22 October 1971. For evangelical opposition to abortion in the early 1970s, see Carl F. H. Henry, " Is Life Ever Cheap? " Eternity, February 1971, 20 –21.
On Nixon Tapes, Ambivalence over Abortion, Not Watergate
- For Nixon
- Charlie Savage
For Nixon's views, see Charlie Savage, " On Nixon Tapes, Ambivalence over Abortion, Not Watergate, " New York Times, 23 June 2009, and tape recording of conversation between Richard Nixon and Charles Colson, 23 January 1973, Tape EOB 407-18, Nixon White House Tapes [ http :// www. nixonlibrary. gov / forresearchers / fi nd / tapes / tape407 / 407 -018. mp3 ].
Why the Democrats Are Blue: How Secular Liberals Hijacked the People's Party
- Mark Stricherz
Mark Stricherz, Why the Democrats Are Blue: How Secular Liberals Hijacked the People's Party ( New York, 2007 ), 161 –208 ;
Draft Abortion-Reform Plank Being Written at White House Abortion and Child Care Planks to Be Proposed to the Th e Republican Women's Attempt at Semi-Activism Abortion " folder
- Robert Mason
- Richard Nixon
Robert Mason, Richard Nixon and the Quest for a New Majority ( Chapel Hill, 2004 ), 155 ; Charlotte Curtis, " Draft Abortion-Reform Plank Being Written at White House, " New York Times, 6 August 1972; " Abortion and Child Care Planks to Be Proposed to the G.O.P., " New York Times, 11 August 1972; Sally Quinn, " Th e Republican Women's Attempt at Semi-Activism, " Washington Post, 24 August 1972; Rita E. Hauser to John Ehrlichman, 28 August 1972, " Abortion " folder, box 28, Colson Files, WHSF, Nixon Presidential Library.
President Won 49 States and 521 Electoral Votes
- Frankel
Max Frankel, " President Won 49 States and 521 Electoral Votes, " New York Times, 9 November 1972 ; Prendergast, Catholic Voter in American Politics, 157–69;
Results on Ballot Questions a Curious Liberal-Conservative Mixture Strict Anti-Abortion Bill Voted by Pennsylvania Legislature State Abortion Law Critics Take Protest to Governor
- Gladwin Hill
Gladwin Hill, " Results on Ballot Questions a Curious Liberal-Conservative Mixture, " New York Times, 9 November 1972 ; " Strict Anti-Abortion Bill Voted by Pennsylvania Legislature, " New York Times, 21 November 1972; William E. Farrell, " State Abortion Law Critics Take Protest to Governor, " New York Times, 16 November 1972.
Th e Man Who Made a Revolution
- Lee Edwards
- Goldwater
Lee Edwards, Goldwater: Th e Man Who Made a Revolution ( Washington, D.C., 1995 ), 420 –21 ;
Buckley Pushes Curb on Abortion
- Reeves
- President
- Nixon
Reeves, President Nixon, 563; " Buckley Pushes Curb on Abortion, " New York Times, 1 June 1973; Melich, Republican War Against Women, 53.
National Right to Life News List of National Right to Life Committee Offi cers and Board of Directors NRLC 1973 " folder, box 5, ACCL, Ford Library Th e Equal Rights Amendment: A Trojan Horse Phyllis Schlafl y and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman's 538 | The GOP's Abortion Strategy Crusade
- Anthony J Lauinger Mildred Jeff Erson
Anthony J. Lauinger, " Focus: Mildred Jeff erson, M.D., " National Right to Life News, January 1977, 3 ; List of National Right to Life Committee Offi cers and Board of Directors [1973], " NRLC 1973 " folder, box 5, ACCL, Ford Library; Vic Lockman, " Th e Equal Rights Amendment: A Trojan Horse " (Alton, Ill., 1976), HH557, box 1B, MS 76.45, Hall-Hoag Collection, John Hay Library, Brown University, Providence; Donald T. Critchlow, Phyllis Schlafl y and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman's 538 | The GOP's Abortion Strategy Crusade ( Princeton, 2005 ), 212 –27 ;
Anti-Abortion Ad Funds Accepted by Dole in '74
- Nicholas M Horrock
- J Albert
- Menendez
Nicholas M. Horrock, " Anti-Abortion Ad Funds Accepted by Dole in '74, " New York Times, 25 August 1976 ; Albert J. Menendez, " Church, State, and the 1996 Election, " Humanist 56 (November–December 1996
Republican Women , 205; Melich, Republican War Against Women , 53
- Rymph
Rymph, Republican Women, 205; Melich, Republican War Against Women, 53;
1976's Sleeper Issue
- Richard Steele
Richard Steele, " 1976's Sleeper Issue, " Newsweek, 9 February 1976, 21–23;
Abortion Loom as a Major Issue as Americans Prepare to Select Candidates for Presidency Abortion " folder, G. Archer Weniger Files, Fundamentalism File
- Religious Service
Religious News Service, " Abortion Loom as a Major Issue as Americans Prepare to Select Candidates for Presidency, " 20 February 1976, " Abortion " folder, G. Archer Weniger Files, Fundamentalism File, J. S. Mack Library, Bob Jones University, Greenville, S.C.; Richard Steele, " Th e Right to Life Candidate, " Newsweek, 9 February 1976, 23; Ralph Stanley to George Van Cleve, 22 July 1976, " Republican Party Platform—Issue Papers (5) " folder, box 29, Michael Raoul-Duval Files, Ford Library.
Abortion Politics , 32; Steele, " 1976's Sleeper Issue, " 23
- Mckeegan
McKeegan, Abortion Politics, 32; Steele, " 1976's Sleeper Issue, " 23; " Reagan on God and Morality, " Christianity Today, 2 July 1976, 39–40;
Ford Abortion Stand Draws Criticism
- Ap
AP, " Ford Abortion Stand Draws Criticism, " New York Times, 5 February 1976.
Why the Democrats Are Blue
- Stricherz
Stricherz, Why the Democrats Are Blue, 220–21;
Refl ections on Abortion and Catholic Votes Republican Party Platform—Issue Papers (1) " folder, box 28, Raoul-Duval Files, Ford Library Constituency Analysis " folder, box 2, A. James Reichley Files, Ford Library Candidate Ford and the Catholics
- Patrick Th
- Myron B Melady
- Kuropas
Th omas Patrick Melady to Myron B. Kuropas, " Refl ections on Abortion and Catholic Votes, " 25 June 1976, " Republican Party Platform—Issue Papers (1) " folder, box 28, Raoul-Duval Files, Ford Library; Jim Reichley to Dick Cheney, 25 June 1976, " Constituency Analysis " folder, box 2, A. James Reichley Files, Ford Library; " Candidate Ford and the Catholics, " America, 25 September 1976, 157.
Aids 'Defense of Life Baptist Standard Anti-Abortion: Not Parochial
- Religious Service
Religious News Service, " Aids 'Defense of Life, ' " Baptist Standard, 3 September 1975, 4; " Anti-Abortion: Not Parochial, " Christianity Today, 8 August 1975, 22; Reichley to Cheney, 25 June 1976.
Republican Party Platform— Issue Papers (5), " box 29, Raoul-Duval Files, Ford Library
- George Van Cleve
- Michael Duval
George Van Cleve to Michael Duval, 23 July 1976, " Republican Party Platform— Issue Papers (5), " box 29, Raoul-Duval Files, Ford Library; Alice Hartle, " GOP to Focus on Abortion, " National Right to Life News, September 1976; Melich, Republican War Against Women, 63–64;
Righteous Warrior: Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism
- William A Link
William A. Link, Righteous Warrior: Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism ( New York, 2008 ), 176 –77.
Abortion Plank Is Fought by Republican Feminists Republican Party Platform of
- Christopher Lydon
Christopher Lydon, " Abortion Plank Is Fought by Republican Feminists, " New York Times, 18 August 1976; Republican Party Platform of 1976 [ http :// www. presidency. ucsb. edu / showplatforms. php ? platindex = R1976 ]. daniel k. williams | 539 39. Jim Reichley to Dick Cheney, 15 September 1976, " Abortion " folder, box 1, Reichley Files, Ford Library.
Material Not to Be Released to the Press—Catholic Bishops, 9-10-76 " folder, box 40, Ronald H. Nessen Files, Ford Library; John Fialka Direct mail from Marjory Mecklenburg to " Pro-Life Group Leaders Abortion Issue (1) " folder, box C25, President Ford Committee Records, Ford Library
- Gerald R Ford
- Joseph L Bernardinn
Gerald R. Ford to Joseph L. Bernardin, 10 September 1976, " Material Not to Be Released to the Press—Catholic Bishops, 9-10-76 " folder, box 40, Ronald H. Nessen Files, Ford Library; John Fialka, " Not Endorsement, Bishop Says, " Washington Star, 17 September 1976; Direct mail from Marjory Mecklenburg to " Pro-Life Group Leaders, " [n.d.], " Abortion Issue (1) " folder, box C25, President Ford Committee Records, Ford Library; " Pat Boone Statement, " [n.