Title	The Right-to-Life Movement, the Reagan Administration, and the Politics of Abortion [electronic resource] / by Prudence Flowers
Imprint	Cham : Springer International Publishing : Imprint: Palgrave Pivot, 2019
Connect to	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01707-1
Descript	XVIII, 160 p. 2 illus., 1 illus. in color. online resource

This book offers a political, ideological, and social history of the national right-to-life movement in the 1980s under President Ronald Reagan. It analyzes anti-abortion engagement with the legislative, judicial, and executive branches, and offers what is frequently a narrative of disappointment and factionalism. The chapters explore pro-life responses to Supreme Court vacancies, attempts to pass a constitutional amendment, and broader legislative and bureaucratic strategies, including successful campaigns against international and domestic family planning programs. The book suggests that the 1980s transformed the anti-abortion cause, limiting the types of ideas and approaches possible at a national level. Although the movement later claimed Reagan as a "pro-life hero," while he was President right-to-lifers continuously struggled with the gap between his words and deeds. They also had a fraught relationship with the broader Republican Party. This book charts the political education of right-to-lifers, offering insights into social movement activism and conservatism in the late twentieth century

Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: A Brief History of the National Movement to End Abortion -- Chapter 3: “A Prolife Disaster”: The Sandra Day O’Connor Nomination -- Chapter 4: “A Movement in Disarray”: The Hatch/Helms Fight -- Chapter 5: “Voodoo Demographics”: The Right-to-Life Movement Confronts the Population Establishment -- Chapter 6: Cultivating Reagan’s Abortion Legacy: His Last Years in Office -- Chapter 7: The Lessons of the Reagan Years