It was 15 years ago this month that the U.S. Supreme Court, in Roe v. Wade, said women have a constitutional right to abortion. The ruling has been bitterly contested ever since, and as a new year gets under way, abortion remains one of the most emotionally charged, divisive issues confronting the nation.
While clashes continue in Congress, state legislatures, and the courts, increased levels of citizen activism and new technological advances have expanded the scope of the prolife movement. And despite the fact that abortion is still legal, prolife leaders say their movement has matured and gained a position of influence in public policy matters.
A Movement’s Changes
Roe v. Wade set into motion a national movement that has undergone a number of changes. In the 1970s, most prolife activities were carried out by Catholics. Now, according to Jack Willke, president of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), that is changing. A Catholic himself, Willke cites “an awakening from its slumber of literally millions of deeply committed Protestant folk.… This is no longer a Catholic movement. This is very much ecumenical, [almost] to the point of being a Protestant Christian movement.”
In addition, the divisions that plagued the prolife movement in the 1970s over allowable exceptions to a proposed ban on abortion and methods for achieving change have subsided. A few activists, like March for Life president Nellie Gray, still insist that the movement should support nothing short of a complete ban on abortion. But according to NRLC legislative director Douglas Johnson, “Divisions within the movement have not been a major hurdle for several years.” Johnson added that most “mainstream” groups have agreed to support legislation with only a narrowly defined exception to save the life of the mother.
Another major change has been in the general outlook of the prolife groups. The “halcyon early days of hope, anticipation, and noncompromise that said we will get a single human life amendment” have given way to a new realism, said Willke.
Curt Young, outgoing executive director of the Christian Action Council (CAC), said he believes the prolife movement is only now beginning to understand the magnitude of its work. “The monumental nature of the moral task that we face is something that was very, very hard to see 10 and 15 years ago,” he said.
Some activists have become bitter about the Reagan administration’s failure to make the sweeping prolife changes they had hoped for. “It has been a reinforcement that our loyalties must never lie with politicians or parties,” said Judie Brown, president of American Life League.
Legal Battles
In the 1970s and early 1980s, with little hope the Supreme Court would reverse Roe v. Wade, prolife groups pushed for a constitutional amendment to protect the life of the unborn or a federal law that would challenge legalized abortion. But despite numerous attempts, those tactics failed. Therefore, while not abandoning the push for a human life amendment, legislative efforts have moved into other areas.
Within the Roe constraint, the most evident prolife gains have been in curtailing federal funds for abortion. In 1976 Congress passed the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the government from paying for abortions except when the life of the mother is endangered. In 1984, the policy was extended to prohibit the federal government from funding international family-planning groups that promote abortion overseas.
The NRLC’S Johnson said the prolife movement has also prevented legislative extensions of Roe v. Wade. As an example, Johnson cited the failure of the Equal Rights Amendment, which he said would have had “far-reaching abortion implications.” Similarly, the Civil Rights Restoration Act remains stalled with the U.S. Senate divided over the issue of whether the bill should require nonprofit, religiously affiliated colleges and health institutions to provide abortions.
The retirement of Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell last June gave the prolife movement new hope the Court might alter its commitment to the Roe ruling. In the high court’s most recent abortion ruling in 1986, four justices called for a reconsideration of Roe v. Wade. Abortion advocates and opponents alike say the person appointed to fill the vacant seat could represent the swing vote for a reconsideration—and possibly an overturning—of the abortion ruling.
Citizen Activism
While legislative and judicial battles drag on, more and more abortion opponents are participating in “direct action” efforts. On the weekend after Thanksgiving, 210 people were arrested at a sit-in that blocked the entrance of an abortion clinic near Philadelphia. The nonviolent demonstration was considered a success because clients were prevented from entering the clinic, and at least one woman changed her mind about having an abortion.
“This type of activity needs to be done because it’s showing that we’re willing to take that extra step … to block the access to these killing chambers,” said protest spokesman Gary Leber. “It is more in line with our rhetoric that abortion is murder.”
The November effort was considered “field training” for a bigger event planned for the first week in May, in which organizers say thousands of people from across the country will participate in a series of sit-ins blocking abortion clinics in New York City.
In another protest, thousands of prolifers are expected to come to Washington, D.C., January 22 for the fifteenth annual March for Life. “The prolife movement as exemplified by these marchers shows that we are not going away until we have gained a constitutional protection for the paramount right to life of each born and preborn human being,” said march organizer Nellie Gray.
Less noticed are the growing numbers of protests being conducted at the local level. The CAC sponsors “Pastors’ Protests” outside local hospitals that perform abortions. State and local groups, as well as individuals, organize marches at government offices, abortion clinics, and abortionists’ homes; and some prolifers provide “sidewalk counseling” to women entering the clinics. Some of these efforts have drawn fire for intimidating women and resorting to such tactics as displaying bloody dolls or actual fetuses. Several cases are pending in courts across the country seeking to limit antiabortion picketing.
New Battle Fronts
Advances in technology and the expansion of abortion services have prompted new approaches in the prolife effort. Among them:
- Some groups have protested the drug RU 486, fearing it could be used as a “do-it-yourself” abortion pill. RU 486, manufactured in France, has been kept out of the United States, largely because of prolife efforts.
- Ethical questions are being raised about the use of aborted fetal tissue for medical research and transplants.
- In many states, the issue of how fetal remains are disposed of after abortions has become a major prolife concern.
- Opposition to school-based health clinics that distribute contraceptives and provide abortion counseling to minors is emerging as a key prolife issue.
- More than 3,000 counseling centers across the country help women who are considering abortion. Prochoice groups have accused some of the centers of using deceptive techniques to “coerce women to continue their pregnancies.” But most of the counseling centers, including the CAC’S Crisis Pregnancy Centers, are committed to employing “moral principles” in providing physical and spiritual support for pregnant women.
- In an effort to apply a “consistent prolife ethic” to public policy debates, a political action committee called Just Life addresses poverty issues and the nuclear arms race along with the abortion question.
However, most leaders in the prolife movement believe the biggest battle in the next few decades will be fought over euthanasia. Because of recent court decisions and actions in state legislatures liberalizing euthanasia regulations, many fear it is becoming the abortion issue of the 1990s.
“I hope the Christian community is better prepared to deal with the euthanasia philosophy than we were with abortion,” said Tom Glessner, the CAC’S incoming executive director. “We let the abortion philosophy sneak up on us.…”
Virtually all prolife leaders agree that the key to winning on any front is swaying public opinion. Several prolife groups have planned aggressive public-education campaigns this year. The CAC is calling May “Abortion Information Month” and will target undecided people with details about abortion and the psychological complications women suffer through Post-abortion Syndrome.
Despite the discouragements and disappointments of the past 15 years, most in the prolife movement say they are committed for the long term. Even if Roe is overturned by the Supreme Court and the legality of abortion is left to each state, Glessner said, “we still would have a whole lot of work to do—maybe even more than we’re doing now.”
By Kim A. Lawton.
Some Key Players
Hundreds of prolife groups emerged after the Supreme Court legalized abortion. Most have specialized their involvement, either by focusing on only one aspect of the antiabortion battle or by representing a specific segment of the American population.
The National Right to Life Committee, the Christian Action Council (CAC), the American Life League, and other groups lobby members of Congress and provide educational services at the grassroots. The CAC also provides a support ministry for women through its Crisis Pregnancy Centers. Other groups that concentrate on women include Women Exploited by Abortion, American Victims of Abortion, Open Arms, Sav-A-Baby, and Alternatives to Abortion International.
Americans United for Life focuses on seeing change come through legislation and court rulings. Others, such as March for Life and the Prolife Direct Action Project, try to effect change through public protests and demonstrations.
Prolife groups have also been formed to represent various segments of the population, such as Feminists for Life and Black Americans for Life; and professions, such as Nurses for Life, the National Association of Prolife Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Veterinarians for Life.
Religious groups are represented as well, including Presbyterians Prolife, Lutherans for Life, the National Organization of Episcopalians for Life, and Choose Life, a Jewish organization.
