The Changing Political Climate Bodes Well for Pro-Lifers; Democrats Sold a Pro-Abortion "Bill of Goods".

The January 1998 issue of National Right to Life News, which commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions, was one of the most widely read of all NRL News editions. The greatest reader reaction was in response to a thought-provoking interview with Canadian Professor of American History Keith Cassidy.

Excerpted from a lengthy phone interview, Cassidy's remarks systematically dismantled a number of silly but powerful stereotypes about the Movement. What these negative portraits had in common, he explained, was that they attempted to marginalize a social movement which is, in fact, a proponent of some of the central values of American life.

In that vein, Cassidy, who teaches at the University of Guelph in Ontario, emphasized that "the Pro-Life Movement operates firmly within the mainstream of American values." While the question of motivation within any social movement is complex, the operating principles of the Pro-Life Movement, he explained, "are firmly rooted in the historic liberal tradition of respect for the indivisibility of human rights."

I spoke with Prof. Cassidy just after Christmas, almost six years to the day from the time of our prior lengthy phone interview. Cassidy, who is at work on a much-anticipated book about the American Pro-Life Movement, was just as stimulating and challenging in our latest in-depth conversation.

His initial observation was spurred by the post-election remarks of a number of Democrats, including its losing presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry, who are thrashing about trying to find a way of dealing with the abortion issue which clearly hurt pro-abortion Democrats.

"The irony is hard to miss," Cassidy said. "For a very long time, an essential part of the pro-choice movement's strategy was to portray the Pro-Life Movement as weak, marginal, and, if not dead, on its last legs."

But the 2004 elections made abundantly clear "that far from disappearing, the Pro-Life Movement came out stronger than ever, with considerable clout," he said. "It had shown again that it is able to mobilize millions and millions of Americans to vote on the basis of an issue of conscience."