How The Republican Party Became Pro-Life

How the Republican Party Became Pro-Life is a non-fiction book written by movement conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, published by Dunrobin Publishing in 2016. Additions were made by Ed Martin to include the 2016 Republican National Convention. The expanded edition was re-released as the third installment in the Phyllis Schlafly Speaks series in 2018. The book contains information about Schlafly’s work and explains how she promoted a pro-life (anti-abortion) platform in the Republican Party from 1976 to 2016.

Background

January 22, 1973 marked the ratification of Roe v. Wade. Before this and after, Phyllis Schlafly was a political activist and a pro-life advocate. Schlafly's influence caused the United States Republican Party to gradually become more and more pro-life.

Schlafly authored twenty-seven books, which advocate her conservative beliefs. Schlafly’s personal beliefs opposed feminism and abortion. She is known for starting the STOP ERA movement in the 1970s, which countered and defeated the Equal Rights Amendment.

Summary

Schlafly’s book provides an account of the political history of abortion in the United States Republican Party. She provides information on the pro-choice attitude of feminism, the STOP ERA movement’s stance against abortion, the anti-abortion beliefs of both Democrats and Republicans in the 1960s and 1970s, and her own goal to make the Republican Party the pro-life political party of the United States.

Within How The Republican Party Became Pro-Life, Schlafly recalls both personal and political difficulties. An influential political activist, Schlafly’s existing Eagle Forum assisted in endeavors to promote the pro-life platform. Surfacing issues of overpopulation, feminism, and judicial activism are explained by Schlafly.

The Presidency of Gerald Ford in August 1974 began Phyllis’s work to establish the Republican Party’s Platform as pro-life. First Lady Betty Ford assumed a pro-choice position appearing on CBS 60 Minutes in 1975. Schlafly used her influence to maintain pro-life advocacy within the Republican Party despite this.

Election timeline

1976: U.S. Senator Jesse Helms and Ronald Reagan set the precedent of pro-life activism within the Republican Party. Democratic candidate Ella McCormack runs as a pro-life candidate, receiving only 22 votes. The Democratic Party veers toward the pro-choice position.
1980: Schlafly attends the Republican Platform Committee dinner with Senator Jesse Helms. All ERA language is eliminated from the platform. The Platform Committee’s pro-life language receives approval, solidifying the party’s pro-life position. Co-chairman Mary Dent Crisp leaves the Republican Party because of the pro-life Platform. Reagan is elected the 40th President of the United States of America.
1984: President Ronald Reagan is elected for a second term. Schlafly and Henry Hyde pen the Republican Party’s Pro-Life Platform statement.
1988: “Let the Good Times Roll” is a slogan used to symbolize ongoing pro-life advocacy in the Republican Party under President George H. W. Bush.
1992: Ann Stone and Mary Dent Crisp push hard against the Republican Platform’s pro-life stance. Stone starts “Republicans for Choice.” Crisp created another group with the same goal of eliminating the Republican Party’s pro-life plank in the Platform. In response, Schlafly and Colleen Parro found the Republican National Coalition for Life. Red cowboy hats were distributed to encourage committee members to vote to keep the pro-life Republican Platform. The vote was eighty-four to ten in favor of keeping the platform language.
1996: “Don’t Change a Comma” was the slogan used to promote the pro-life plank in the Platform this year. White cowboy hats were used to denote Schlafly’s pro-life group and pro-life delegates. Bob Dole was nominated as the Republican candidate. His idea was to lessen or eliminate the pro-life language in the Platform. Schlafly hosted an annual pro-life banquet. The Committee voted to maintain the pro-life language.
2000: “The Life of the Party” was written on vests and given to pro-life delegates. Conservative positions on abortion and marriage were promoted this year. The Republican Party voted to keep its Platform conservative on these issues.
2004: Under President George W. Bush, the Platform remained pro-life.
2008: The Republican National Coalition for Life event is organized by Schlafly and her team in St. Paul, Minnesota. Laura Ingraham speaks at the event substituting for Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin.
2012: The Republican National Coalition for Life attends the 41st annual March for Life in Washington, DC. The pro-life language in the Platform remains the same.
2016: This was Schlafly’s 17th National Republican Convention. She hosted her annual Life of the Party banquet advocating for the pro-life position in the Platform.

Expanded edition

Following Schlafly's death in November 2016, politician and author Ed Martin planned to write an expanded edition which included coverage of the 2016 Republican National Convention. The expanded version became the third installment of his Phyllis Schlafly Speaks series, and was released in 2018.

Reception

References

External links

Schlafly, Phyllis. "How The Republican Party Became Pro-Life." Phyllis Schlafly Speaks, Vol. 3, Phyllis Schlafly Estate, 2018.[1]
Bush, George W. "Decision Points." Crown Publishers, 2010. Decision Points
Phyllis Schlafly Eagles. "Republican National Coalition for Life." [2] Retrieved July 23, 2020.
Haberkorn, Jennifer. "Republicans building stronger anti-abortion plank in platform." [3] Politico.com. July 12, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
Kliff, Sarah. "How the Republican party became pro-life."[4] Washington Post. March 10, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
Republican Party Platform of 1976. uscb.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020. [5]
Republican Party Platform of 2016. [6] Archived 2017-05-19 at the Wayback Machine (PDF)
"Republican National Convention: President Reagan's Address at the RNC - 8/23/84." YouTube.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020.[7]
Wayne, Leslie. "THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE ISSUES; Forbes Emphasizes Position Against Abortion and Taxes." [8] New York Times. Jan 23, 2000. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
The Washington Post Company. "Anniversary: Roe v. Wade." [9] Washington Post. January 18, 2002. Retrieved August 7, 2020.

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