The Pro-Choice Movement: Organization and Activism in the Abortion Conflict

244 Pages·1991·15.22 MB·English

by  Suzanne Staggenborg

THE PRO-CHOICE MOVEMENT
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THE PRO-CHOICE
MOVEMENT
Organization and Activism in
the Abortion Conflict
SUZANNE STAGGENBORG
New York Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1991
Oxford University Press
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Copyright © 1991 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.,
200 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Staggenborg, Suzanne.
The Pro-choice movement: organization and activism
in the abortion conflict / Suzanne Staggenborg.
p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-19-506596-4
1. Pro-choice movement—United States.
2. Abortion—United States. I. Title.
HQ767.5.U5S73 1991 363.4'6'0973—dc20
90-23877
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 42
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To Rod
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many past and present pro-choice movement activists gave me hours of their time
and the benefit of their memories and insights; this book could not have been
written without their help. In addition to talking to me, many persons also dug
into their closets and basements for memos, newsletters, and notes. I am partic-
ularly grateful to Jean Robinson and Jenny Knauss, who each lent me several
boxes of invaluable private papers. The staffs at the special collections depart-
ments of Northwestern University library and the University of Illinois at Chicago
library, the Chicago Historical Society, the manuscripts department of the New
York Public Library, and the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College were also
all very helpful in routing out documents.
This work began as my doctoral dissertation at Northwestern University. I am
grateful for the support I received there, and particularly for the freedom I had to
pursue my own project in my own way. My dissertation advisor Allan Schnaiberg
and committee members Albert Hunter and Charles Ragin were very much a part
of the support and freedom I enjoyed at Northwestern.
Comments from a number of colleagues and reviewers greatly improved the
manuscript. I am particularly grateful to John McCarthy, Carol Mueller, Rod Nel-
son, Ronnie Steinberg, Verta Taylor, and an anonymous reviewer for their sug-
gestions. At Oxford University Press, Valerie Aubry, my editor, and Niko Pfund
were extremely supportive and helpful.
The research was supported by a dissertation grant from the National Science
Foundation (#SES-8315574) and a small grant from the Institute of Social
Research at Indiana University. A leave from teaching in the spring of 1990 at
Indiana University enabled me to complete work on the manuscript.
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Contents
ABBREVIATIONS, Xiii
1 Introduction, 3
Social Movements and the Political Process, 5
Growth, Maintenance, and Decline of Social
Movements, 7
The Study, 8
PARTI
ORIGINS OF THE MOVEMENT TO LEGALIZE
ABORTION
2 The Emergence of the Movement, 13
Professionals and Established Organizations in the
Abortion Reform Movement, 13
The Creation of a Repeal Movement, 16
Grass-Roots Participation: The Cycle of Protest, 18
Coordination and Coalition in the Movement, 24
Conclusion, 27
3 Collective Action Through Established Means, 29
The Politics of Persuasion, 30
Activist Backgrounds and Institutionalized Channels
of Influence, 32
Organizational Deficits and Movement Diversity, 37
Conclusion, 42
4 Confrontation and Direct Action, 43
The Creation of a New Consciousness, 44
Feminist Mobilization and Direct Action, 51
Conclusion, 54