This article examines how anti-abortion positions became embedded within the Republican party before 1980. By analyzing voter, activist, and elite attitudes from the early 1970s, it argues that conservative views on racial issues, civil rights, and military matters predated the abortion issue's political salience. These preexisting public opinions provided fertile ground for the anti-abortion movement to align with conservatism. A key finding reveals that white evangelical support for conservative abortion policies existed among laity before leaders fully embraced the pro-life stance. The research contends this popular base was more significant than elite interactions in integrating the movement into the Republican party's platform, reshaping its policy landscape.
