Human Rights and Political Expediency: How the 1972 U.S. Presidential Election Politicized Abortion

Christine Decker’s capstone project looks at the years before the legalization of Roe v. Wade and how abortion legalization became a central topic during the 1972 presidential election, utilized by the Republican party to grow their electoral majority, and ushered in a new era of U.S. politics where abortion would dominate the partisan debate over American values. She notes how in the years before Roe v. Wade, opposition to abortion was seen as a Catholic issue – and it was this perception that caused the Republican Party to shift its position on abortion and President Nixon, who was running for reelection in 1972, to oppose abortion on moral and cultural grounds in order to court the support of Catholic single-issue voters. Decker also analyzes how the divide over abortion was not partisan; instead, it boiled down to conflicting interpretations of human rights. She notes how early anti-abortion activists viewed their cause as a struggle for civil and human rights, in line with New Deal and Great Society liberalism. On the contrary, Pro-life activists, who at the time were largely Catholics, viewed their campaign to save the lives of the unborn as a human rights cause to defend the value of all human life. Lastly, Decker notes how this crystallized debate during the 1972 elections made abortion and pro-life stances a plank of the Republican Party’s platform and had a lasting impact on contemporary American politics. Student project deposited by department for archival purposes. Original work unavailable for public download due to permission restriction preferences of the author.