PRO-LIFE POLITICAL HISTORY
The pro-life movement was
made necessary by the 1973
Supreme Court Decision
legalizing abortion. Prior
to 1973 it was a widely held
belief that the rights of an
unborn child were covered by
the Constitution, for
example, an unborn child was
recognized under inheritance
laws. It was not until the
1980 elections that Ronald
Reagan made the life issue a
part of the “states rights”
and “human rights” plank of
the “Southern Strategy”.
After the elections of 1980
it became apparent that vast
numbers of traditionally
Democrat/Catholic voters had
voted Republican and in
doing so had caused a major
shift in American politics.
1968 – Richard Nixon was
first elected in 1968 using
what was to become known as
the “Southern Strategy”. In
1966, Richard Nixon stated
his belief that the
Republican Party could build
their strength upon the
principles of a “color blind
government”, including
states rights, human rights,
a small federal government
and a strong national
defense. It was Nixon’s
intention to find leaders in
the South to counter the
“party of Maddox, Mahoney
and Wallace [who were]
squeezing the last ounces of
political juice out of the
rotting fruit of racial
injustice.” This strategy
had already resulted in
Martin Luther King thanking
Nixon for his support of the
1957 Civil Rights Act.
Nixon also believed the
strategy would appeal to the
conservative nature of the
Central and Western states.
The success in this strategy
resulted in Nixon winning
the White House which he
held into a second term
until his resignation in
August, 1974.
1976 – Jimmy Carter
recognized that many
Catholics in the pro-life
movement were traditional
Democratic voters and were
already organized to fight
the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme
Court decision that had
legalized abortion. Carter
used the existing pro-life
organizations within the
states to attain victory in
the early primaries. Carter
also relied upon his having
been the Governor of Georgia
to counter the Republican
“Southern Strategy”. The
Republicans nominated Gerald
Ford who had succeeded Nixon
upon his resignation. Ford
seemed to have little
understanding of the
“Southern Strategy” and
ignored abortion as an
issue. Carter was elected.
1980 – Ronald Reagan
embraced Nixon’s “Southern
Strategy” which became the
total conservative agenda.
Carter’s popularity had
waned because of poor
economic performance and his
abandonment of his previous
pro-life position. The
Reagan strategy included
drawing away traditional
Democratic Catholic voters
and Southern evangelicals
who were now included in the
pro-life movement, and
became a part of the “Regan
Democrats.” Ronald Reagan
held the office of President
for two terms.
1988 – George H. Bush (Bush
I), served as Ronald
Reagan’s Vice-President and
inherited the conservative
blessing of Ronald Reagan.
Upon becoming President,
Bush moved to what he
believed to be the political
center embracing tax
increases and abandoning the
conservative agenda. This
created an opening for yet
another Southern governor.
1992 – Bill Clinton, having
been the Governor of
Arkansas was able to defeat
the Bush I who had moved
away from the conservative
agenda and in the process
picked-up half of the
pro-life vote. Clinton held
office for two terms.
2000 – George W. Bush (Bush
II), picked-up the Reagan
agenda and election
strategy. Bush became yet
another Southern governor
elected from the South by
using what had become known
as the evangelical vote.
George W. Bush has served
two terms as President.
Since 1968 every President
elected to office has relied
upon Nixon’s Southern
Strategy and in every
election since 1976 the
winning candidate has relied
upon the “Evangelical Vote”,
of which the pro-life
movement is considered to be
a part, including both
Democrats and Republicans.
Since 1976, no President has
been elected in their first
term without a substantial
portion of the pro-life
vote.
Since the election of George
W. Bush in 2000 there has
been a major effort to label
the “Southern Strategy” as
racist, which is the
opposite of the view held by
both Nixon and Martin Luther
King, Jr. In addition, the
social agenda, abortion and
prayer, have been labeled
“extreme” and “intolerant”.
Yet, to even the most casual
observer it can be easily
seen as to how important
this strategy has been to
both political parties.
In one form or another, the
“Southern Strategy” has been
successfully used by both
political parties.