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

physical space in Minneapolis and role as the state’s most vocal and prominent pro-life
organization that it has held since the 1970s.
The MCCL struggle was one that has turned from a solely state battle, to one that
was often fought on national grounds. The 1973 decisions did what over six years of
Minnesota pro-abortion lobbying and organization could not. Yet despite the defeat,
MCCL enjoyed moderate success and thriving membership in the following decades
because its tactics and debate followed the trends set forth by the 1973 decisions; Roe and
Doe transformed the abortion debate from one fought on a principally state and nonpartisan
level, to one fought largely on a national front and in political debate. Indeed,
the 1973 decisions made the abortion debate “a whole new thing,” according to a 1973
Robbinsdale Sun article. 34
State groups like MCCL served as a model for activists in
other states, offering direct financial aid and guidance through its Lifemobile and Mission
Possible campaigns. Although MCCL as an organization largely maintained its
government lobbying efforts on a state level, it also reached nationwide to develop
grassroots groups like itself. Therefore, the abortion issue was one that continued on both
a national and a grassroots level after the Roe decision. In order to maintain its
effectiveness, MCCL successfully adapted its scope as one that was foremost stateoriented,
but also remained connected to national groups. MCCL fought at both the state
and federal levels in courts and legislatures, and also lent (or often, donated) its most
prominent and effective leaders to national organizations MCCL’s founders often created
themselves.
34 “Abortion: local reaction to the decision to legalize,” Robbinsdale Sun, 29 January 1973, Box 3,
Folder: Newspaper Clippings 1973, Katherine Taylor Wood Papers.
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