The Untold Story of Abortion in Politics

Graphic by Clare Williams.

At White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s first press conference on January 20, the majority of reporters had questions surrounding information on COVID-19 relief and the transition to the Biden-Harris administration. However, one reporter’s questions diverged from the rest. Jen Psaki was not able to provide the “pro-life” reporter any in-depth details concerning the reporter’s questions on the Hyde Amendment and the Mexico City Policy at the time of the press conference. The Mexico City Policy or “global gag rule” blocked U.S. federal funding for non-governmental organizations that provide essential abortion healthcare services. The Hyde Amendment bans the use of federal healthcare funds from covering abortion except when a person is experiencing a serious health crisis or is pregnant due to rape or incest.  

The Biden-Harris administration did run on the promise of reversing these two harmful policies and has since reversed the Mexico City Policy as of January 28. In response to the Biden-Harris administration’s progressive stance on abortion, many states have since passed nearly total restrictive bans on abortion coverage and access. For instance, Arkansas’s Act 308, as of its passage on March 10, both criminalizes and bans abortion even in instances of rape, incest, or fetal anomalies. 

Abortion rights may be expanded federally as the Biden-Harris administration promised. Yet, at the state and supreme court levels, abortion rights and justice are repeatedly under attack. This begs the question: how did we get to this point-where one of the safest procedures that one in four women will have in their lifetime is so politicized? While abortion has become a religiously fueled issue, its contention is due to recent political history. The build-up of the moral majority under the Nixon administration and the election of the Reagan administration generated the divisiveness of abortion in politics we observe today. 

Roman Catholic attitudes towards abortion remained dynamic until 1869, when Pope Pius IX set forth that abortion incurred excommunication. However, there were a few exceptions to this rule including if the pregnant woman was extremely young or pregnant outside of wedlock.  Until 1869, several major religious figures, including popes, had wavering stances on abortion. Prior to Pope Pius IX, St. Thomas Aquinas’ theology surrounding abortion was popular for hundreds of years and stated that the fetus developed in three phases; a vegetative state, a mammal like soul, and finally a human or “rational” soul, and therefore abortion was permissible as long as it was performed before it reached a rational stage. In addition to the reversal of stances on abortion by church figures, many treated abortion with more severity due to their views on sexuality and contraception. 

Ultimately, Pope Pius IX’s views would persist post-1869. However, American institutions challenged this throughout 1900-2000, especially in wartime economies when women were encouraged to work. Religious and legal disputes would intensify and directly affect women’s daily lives during the mobilization of the religious right in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Thus, religious views on abortion were dynamic until key political institutions and leaders organized masses of evangelical and right leaning groups to produce the moral majority. 

Contrastingly, abortion was supported on both sides of the political aisle through the 1960’s and 70’s. Many Republicans initially voted in favor of pro-choice legislation because of the conservative beliefs surrounding individual rights and small government. Also, many Republicans favored abortion over expanding welfare. This attitude was best exemplified when at-the-time Governor of California Ronald Reagan signed abortion into state law. Thus, during the early years of the Nixon administration, abortion was not nearly as polarizing as it would become. 

Nixon revealed ambivalent yet racist attitudes towards abortion in private recordings to a White House aide. These recordings revealed the goal of the Southern Strategy to restructure the Republican party platform post desegregation in 1954. After Brown v. Board of Education, Republicans were not able to appeal to voters without changing overtly racist stances. Therefore, under the direction of Barry Goldwater, Nixon, and later Paul Weyrich, Republican leadership shifted to more family and faith social-political issues. 

 Nixon shifted away from this indecisive stance on abortion while campaigning for the 1972 election against Democratic candidate George McGovern. In 1969, Nixon strategist Kevin Phillips published The Emerging Republican Majority, which served as a model for this campaign. Thus, Nixon’s “silent majority” began to materialize. Finally in 1972, Nixon ran on a pro-life ticket in order to attract Catholic voters and socially conservative Democrats to the Republican party. 

Nixon’s anti-choice stance enabled him to aggressively attack McGovern, labeling him as a “radical” and destructive to families because of his alignment with feminists and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) movement. In reality, McGovern did not actually support progressive pro-choice policies. Simultaneously, Phyllis Schlafly, conservative activist and founder of the Phyllis Schlafly Eagles,  publicly denounced abortion and campaigned against the ERA for years. She effectively organized her supporters around the Nixon campaign. Nixon was able to attack abortion not only as a religious issue, but as a threat of youth-led social “permissiveness.” Moreover, Nixon appeared as the more traditionalist and socially conservative candidate and thus garnered support for his election through building up the silent majority. The shift to an anti-choice platform attracted white, socially-conservative Democrats and evangelical and Catholic voters. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, the silent majority grew and abortion became more polarized into the Reagan administration. 

Reagan’s presidential policies on abortion intensely contrasted his stances as former California Governor. Reagan had enacted the Therapeutic Abortion Act as Governor of California, which enabled some privileged women to receive abortions. This wavering stance quickly ended upon his presidential campaign. Prior to 1980, Reagan referred to abortion as a purely constitutional issue. However, in speeches like his National Affairs Briefing speech on Religious Liberty, Reagan formally endorsed the religious right’s efforts that included restricting abortion. By 1980, Reagan had been endorsed by the National Right to Life Committee, and the committee itself had grown in size and power. 

Abortion was further politicized during the Reagan era because Reagan’s presidency represented a clear partisan turning point. Reagan appointed anti-choice justices and attempted to counteract Roe v. Wade by introducing new bills and legislation. However, the most substantial turning point of the Reagan presidency was the organizing of the anti-choice movement that would aid Reagan’s rise to power. 

The crux of Reagan’s campaign against choice was Jerry Falwell and Weyrich’s organizing, which resulted in the establishment of the Moral Majority in 1979. The Moral Majority invested in lobbying at all levels of government, and Falwell and Weyrich saw a like-minded and publicly active individual in Ronald Reagan that they could endorse. By 1981, the organizing of the Moral Majority had been incorporated as part of Reagan advisor Lee Atwater’s “evolved southern strategy” to win the religious right’s support. By the time of Reagan’s reelection, the Moral Majority had been cemented as an organization. Although the Moral Majority declined at the end of Reagan’s second term due to financial issues and a lack of activist momentum, anti-choice Moral Majority networks would benefit Donald Trump in his campaign and presidency. 

Ilyse Hogue of NARAL Pro-Choice America cites how the same machine that brought Reagan into power also aided the election of Trump. Further, there were several campaign similarities between Reagan and Trump and because of their similar beliefs. Many Reagan officials later hosted and campaigned for Trump during his campaigns for president. Both campaigned using fear tactics, specifically using provoking comments about making America great again, implying America return to misogynist and racist social structures, and the threat of destruction of their “pro-family” agendas. Due to this, in 2012, one of the events that would gain political traction for Trump was when Falwell Jr., would host Trump at Liberty University, calling Trump “one of the greatest visionaries of our time.” 

The parallels between Trump and Reagan’s utilization of anti-choice networks throughout their campaigns demonstrate how partisan abortion has become and that in order to change this, Democrats must tackle the urgent issue and expand reproductive rights and justice. Reproductive rights have been juggled between white cis-male politicians and religious leaders for decades, which has severly limited thousands of Americans of their personal decision to access a safe and legal abortion. Unfortunately, the politicization of abortion cannot be undone immediately because more detailed legislation on the state and federal levels must be passed in order to guarantee this essential healthcare right. However, with pressure on the Biden-Harris administration to end the Hyde Amendment and guarantee further access to abortion, politicians have opportunity within the next four years to give this right back to Americans.