political evolution on abortion in America

A book review on a thesis I first read here in a Human Life Review article by George McKenna.

In a nutshell, the GOP was more pro-abortion than Democrats in the 1970s. For example, "Republicans were slightly more likely than Democrats to favor total legalization of abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. While Ronald Reagan was signing an abortion liberalization law in California, Ted Kennedy was endorsing the 'right to life' in Massachusetts."

The history of that evolution is fascinating. But the most interesting concept is that pro-life may one day return to the Democrats, since that position is ostensibly more at home in the Democratic party. Democrats used to stand for justice and "the little guy", individual rights of those being oppressed, and so on. (They also claim to be fond of science, but I'm not so sure that's not as likely to be a principled position for them.) These days, it's much more about crony capitalism and appealing to various interest groups.

Another terrific book in this arena-- that ranges from America's colonial days to the present day: Marvin Olasky's Abortion Rites: A Social History of Abortion in America.