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

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“Let Us Be Born:” The Emergence of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, Its Progression as Model to State Groups, and the Brief Pre-Roe Contemplation of National Organization 17 The Minnesota anti-abortion story is one “rife with paradox,” according to historian Glen Halva-Neubauer, and one that is seemingly perplexing and surprising on the surface. 18 Indeed, the Minnesota story is a unique one. How could such a historically liberal state – the only one to vote for Mondale in 1984, and one that produced Justice Harry Blackmun, author of the Roe decision itself – foster the largest state anti-abortion movement in the country, attracting over 10,000 members by 1973? 19 This can be explained in part by the prominent medical establishments in Minnesota, by the moraldriven ancestry and culture of the its citizens, and also by the nature of the abortion issue itself as a non-partisan issue in the years before Roe v. Wade. Minnesota has an unusually vibrant and progressive political atmosphere; through the lens of MCCL, one can see why. Political scientist David Elazar claims Minnesota has a “moralistic political culture,” one that emphasizes the community’s power to influence government for the sole betterment of the community itself, and provides for a structure that supports amateur political participation. 20 Elazar attributes this moralistic culture to Minnesota’s earliest immigrants: New Englanders and northern Europeans, 17 Robert E. Joyce, Let Us Be Born: The Inhumanity of Abortion (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1970). 18 Glen A. Halva-Neubauer, “Minnesota: Shifting Sands on a ‘Challenger’ Beachhead?,” in Abortion Politics in American States, ed. Mary C. Segers and Timothy A. Byrnes, (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc, 1995), 29. 19 Ibid., 29. 20 Elazar, Gray, and Spano, xxiv. 29
who shared a “communitarian ethic” reminiscent of that of America’s colonial settlers. 21 Elazar claims that this communitarian ethic survives today because of Minnesota’s steady population growth and “demographic homogeneity;” indeed, the large distance between Twin Cities and other major metropolitan areas and persistent cold weather partially isolate Minnesota from frequent migration and outside influences that could alter its ethic. 22 Columnist Neal Peirce deems the state’s political structure “open, issue-oriented, [and] responsible.” 23 The state’s population is one of the most highly educated, well informed, and politically mobile in the nation. Peirce again asserts, “few states exceed Minnesota in the quality and extent of the education offered its citizens; none appears to provide health care of comparable quality.” 24 The Mayo Clinic is a key example of this high quality health care. Well-educated, open, and issue-oriented, Minnesotans respond favorably to lucid, well-organized, and reasoned debate. This is exactly what MCCL has tapped into since its pre-Roe years. MCCL owed much of its success to its ability to remain a single-issue organization, despite pressure to enter euthanasia, capital punishment, and Vietnam War debates by critics like Denis Wadley, then chairman of the Minnesota chapter of Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), who deemed the group “too loud and coercive on its one issue, and too glaringly silent on the other, related matters.” 25 The group employed moral and medical knowledge and remained open to all members, regardless of religion or party affiliation. All this was precisely aligned with 21 Ibid., 10. 22 Ibid., 210. 23 Neal Peirce, “Minnesota: The Successful Society,” in The Great Plains States of America: People, Politics, and Power in the Nine Great Plains States (New York: W.W. Norton, 1972, 1973), 110, quoted in Elazar, Gray, and Spano, 3. 24 Ibid. 25 Denis Wadley, “M.C.C.L. or M.C.C.A.?,” [~1971], Box 3, Folder: Denis Wadley Papers, Personal Papers undated, 1971, 1973, Denis Wadley Papers 1948-1982, University of Minnesota Social Welfare Archives, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. 30
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: underestimated his opponents, as MC
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 and 116:
legislatures, and celebrated occasi
Page 117 and 118:
ecognized nationwide as “one of t
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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