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

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politicization of the abortion issue. She identified the “left, liberals, Democrats, and feminists” as becoming a cohesive force, so she reached to the Right. 71 However, Jefferson encountered resistance as the NRLC debt consistently hovered around $25,000 throughout her presidency, which eventually led to her resignation after three terms as president. Jefferson then progressed beyond the private organization of the NRLC and instead sought the Republican nomination to run against Senator Kennedy (D-Mass.) in 1982. 72 Emphasizing her upbringing as a minister’s daughter, Jefferson campaigned on a platform based on decreased government intervention and on her relatability to both the rich and the poor, as a Senator who would not be “known as a champion of the poor, but to be one who has helped the poor become champions of themselves.” 73 Additionally, Jefferson advocated a Human Life Amendment and states rights (in line with a statedetermined abortion policy), asserting “the greater the need is, the closer that help should be to its source of funding.” 74 Jefferson’s advisors recommended she avoid social issues on her campaign; instead, she seemed to base her campaign on them, asserting “key concerns [like] forced busing, the right to life, prayer in the schools, gun control are real concerns of the real people…I want…[to] let people know exactly what I represent.” 75 Perhaps hindered by such specific and conservative social views in a more liberal district, Ted Kennedy was re-elected in 1982. Jefferson did not get the chance to campaign against Kennedy in the long run, as businessman Ray Shamie won the Republican 71 Paige, 86. 72 James J. Drummey, “Doctor Mildred Jefferson: An Exclusive Interview With The Distinguished Boston Surgeon Who Has Thrown Her Hat In The Ring Against Teddy Kennedy,” The Review Of The NEWS, 17 March 1982, 39-50, ACCL Records, Box 22: ACCL Admin File: People – General – Mildred Jefferson, Gerald R. Ford Library. 73 Ibid. 74 Ibid. 75 Ibid. 89
nomination. Jefferson’s tactics were quite different from those that made MCCL and ACCL activists successful in their own campaigns. The pro-life cause still could not be pushed on a political, single-issue level. Although the issue was politicized, it was still not the aggressively partisan issue Jefferson believed it to be. Jefferson also emphasized her religious background in her NRLC years and in her run for Senator, unlike MCCL and ACCL activists that maintained a non-religious approach for the duration of their most vital years (as MCCL still remains non-partisan and non-religious today). While Jefferson was a vital actor who progressed far to a Senatorial candidacy, her tactics were not as effective as others,’ and her pro-life activism on a national scale ended with her defeat. Carolyn Gerster was Jefferson’s successor as NRLC president, and was known as “one of the bright Protestant lights of regional right-to-life activity” in her Arizona home during the early statewide debates of the 1960s and 70s. 76 She was an Episcopalian. 77 In 1971, she became the co-founder and first president of the Arizona Right to Life Committee, a position she held until 1973. With Marjory Mecklenburg, she drafted the original NRLC bylaws in 1973 and served on the national organization’s first executive committee as a representative of Arizona. 78 Gerster served as the NRLC vice-president from 1973-75 and president and chairman of the board from 1977-80. She was a practicing physician and also served to promote a broader Christian label to the NRLC. Historian Connie Paige writes that, with Gerster, the NRLC “finally developed enough 76 Gorney, 178. 77 “There’s something for everyone at this year’s state convention,” MCCL Newsletter, October 1977, page 1, MCCL Archives. 78 Ibid. 90
Page 1 and 2:
Abortion as a “Medical Problem Br
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Table of Contents Acknowledgements
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Abbreviations ACCL - American Citiz
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this first neighborhood grassroots
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in New York, California, and Colora
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is a unique and important one to te
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major factors led to MCCL’s victo
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Well before Blackmun’s 1972 Mayo
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Chapter 1: The Pre-History of the C
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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: Lampe, and others) split to form AC
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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