The Pre-Roe Pro-Life Movement in Minnesota and New York

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amount to three every minute in this country); discouraged by the bickering and lack of direction in the pro-life movement itself.” 6 While he later maintained “I am hopeful because ACCL has a long-range vision…unique in the pro-life movement,” many actors were not as optimistic. 7 Even Mecklenburg became overwhelmed. Her eventual resignation from the Reagan administration showed her increasing frustration and discouragement, not dissimilar to Hunt’s sentiments, as the pro-life movement progressed forward, but its achievements often did not. While the Minnesota story explored in this thesis does not end with a necessarily satisfying nor celebratory outlook for the pro-life movement in the mid-1980s, the most valuable points made rather rest in the importance of the Minnesota story of innovative tactics in tune with a constantly-shifting abortion debate. Although this debate eventually entered a large, national scale, the anti-abortion movement’s origins were largely grounded in the activism of Marjory Mecklenburg, the majority of ACCL founders, and MCCL itself - all products of the Minnesotan community and issue-based ethic. ACCL and Mecklenburg more specifically constantly pushed back on a movement they saw as limited in obtaining support and tangible achievements and characterized as “politically conservative, religiously fundamentalist and sexually puritan.” 8 While MCCL and ACCL offer this narrative an institutional connection throughout, Marjory Mecklenburg and Minnesotans like her offer a personal common thread that spans the development of the early contemporary anti-abortion/pro-life movement. Mecklenburg specifically was 6 William C. Hunt, American Citizens Concerned for Life 1981-1982 Campaign for Human Life Objectives, December 1981, ACCL Records, Box 29, Folder: ACCL Admin File: Fundraising, Gerald R. Ford Library. 7 Ibid. 8 Susan Fogg, “Abortion opponents part ways,” Newark Star Ledger, 29 September 1974, ACCL Records, Box 7, Folder: NRLC – 1974 (5), Gerald R. Ford Library. 111
ecognized nationwide as “one of the most open, thoughtful and insightful antiabortion advocates in the country.” 9 All the actors explored in this work were prominent thought leaders by local and national pro-life activists alike. Minnesotans like Joseph Lampe, the Mecklenburgs, the Joyces, the Hartles, and many others largely defied Catholic stereotypes. All attained national positions and established publications toward the cause of the pro-life movement throughout the pre- and post-Roe era. Minnesota, therefore, was a vital breeding ground for the movement, its institutions, and its people. The state’s unique culture nurtured an active citizenry with a community ethic, which proved wholly appropriate and fitting for an effective and successful pro-life cause. The trajectory of pre- and post-Roe episodes therefore does not tell a segmented story, but rather a continuous one. The headline of a 1983 Minnesota Star & Tribune article detailing Mecklenburg’s position in the Reagan administration proclaimed “Grassroots work vital to abortion foes;” the article attributed her success to her experience gained in grassroots Minnesota. 10 The institutional structures out of Minnesota, the political arguments traced, and the individual people who acted in the decades before and after the decision clearly show this. Minnesota’s pro-life history challenges the conception of pre- and post-1973 terms often told in the abortion historiography. It demonstrates the story of the contemporary pro-life movement as one that was simultaneously Catholic and Protestant, religious and non-religious, medical and moral, grassroots and national. This historical and political debate must be seen in binaries and 9 “Mecklenburg good choice,” The Forum – Fargo-Moorhead, 18 March 1981, ACCL Records, Box 35, Folder: ACCL Admin File: M. Mecklenburg 1973-76 (1), Gerald R. Ford Library. 10 Jacqui Banaszynski, “Mecklenburg: Grass-roots work vital to abortion foes,” Minneapolis Star & Tribune, 26 May 1983, ACCL Records, Box 35, Folder: M. Mecklenburg Fed Positions, Gerald R. Ford Library. 112
Page 1 and 2:
Abortion as a “Medical Problem Br
Page 3 and 4:
Table of Contents Acknowledgements
Page 5 and 6:
Abbreviations ACCL - American Citiz
Page 7 and 8:
this first neighborhood grassroots
Page 9 and 10:
in New York, California, and Colora
Page 11 and 12:
is a unique and important one to te
Page 13 and 14:
major factors led to MCCL’s victo
Page 15 and 16:
Well before Blackmun’s 1972 Mayo
Page 17 and 18:
Chapter 1: The Pre-History of the C
Page 19 and 20:
practice. The law as it stands is t
Page 21 and 22:
would have functioned independently
Page 23 and 24:
instances also increased awareness
Page 25 and 26:
threat of abortion criminalization
Page 27 and 28:
the actions of new twentieth-centur
Page 29 and 30:
of the MCLTP. 3 In the early 1970s,
Page 31 and 32:
from the Great Depression in its se
Page 33 and 34:
underestimated his opponents, as MC
Page 35 and 36:
who shared a “communitarian ethic
Page 37 and 38:
However, the Council did not offer
Page 39 and 40:
issue-based and activist politics f
Page 41 and 42:
Blake and Fred Mecklenburg and lobb
Page 43 and 44:
yet united front against abortion l
Page 45 and 46:
anti-abortion movement, but also be
Page 47 and 48:
emerging organizations across the c
Page 49 and 50:
the 1970s, and an additional thirte
Page 51 and 52:
When news of Roe and Doe broke, MCC
Page 53 and 54:
their efforts prior to the decision
Page 55 and 56:
the part of state groups and create
Page 57 and 58:
physical space in Minneapolis and r
Page 59 and 60:
58 of them were enacted. 37 Even fo
Page 61 and 62:
looms as a menace to all mankind an
Page 63 and 64:
War.” 56 President Gerald Ford di
Page 65 and 66: the 1976 Republican Party Platform,
Page 67 and 68: should be noted that pro-life activ
Page 69 and 70: with us.” 81 Needless to say, by
Page 71 and 72: ecord of being vindictive.” 90 Ca
Page 73 and 74: decades of involvement. Yet before
Page 75 and 76: nationwide effort organized by the
Page 77 and 78: in drastic (at the extreme, irrecon
Page 79 and 80: and increase political effectivenes
Page 81 and 82: willing to be window dressing - no
Page 83 and 84: Warren Schaller, and others to form
Page 85 and 86: women, which would become the speci
Page 87 and 88: On multiple levels, ACCL became a p
Page 89 and 90: multi-issue approach was a tactic a
Page 91 and 92: asserted, “often a few key people
Page 93 and 94: Lampe, and others) split to form AC
Page 95 and 96: nomination. Jefferson’s tactics w
Page 97 and 98: administration. 82 Lampe took over
Page 99 and 100: and was also a member of Planned Pa
Page 101 and 102: As previously explored, Mecklenburg
Page 103 and 104: million; Schweiker’s stance and a
Page 105 and 106: Almost immediately after her appoin
Page 107 and 108: The last straw came when Mecklenbur
Page 109 and 110: on the national scene cautiously, m
Page 111 and 112: abortion debate she encountered as
Page 113 and 114: Conclusion Supreme Court Justice Ha
Page 115: legislatures, and celebrated occasi
Page 119 and 120: Bibliography Archives and Interview
Page 121 and 122: Gorney, Cynthia. Articles of Faith.
Page 123: Press, Eyal. Absolute Convictions:
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The Pre-Roe Pro-Life Movement in Minnesota and New York

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