Opposition to legal abortion wasn't always a consensus matter across the Christian Right. In fact, as recently as the early 1970s, Protestants mostly considered it a "Catholic issue." But against a backdrop of paranoia about government overreach into religious affairs and fear of demographic decline, a Catholic named Paul Weyrich and an evangelical named Jerry Falwell joined hands to turn abortion into the signature mobilizing issue of their new Moral Majority. This week, June and Josh look at how this historical moment was primed for exploitation, why Christian rhetoric and policy toward abortion shifted so quickly, and what the long-term durability of this unholy alliance means as Americans continue to see their civil rights rolled back by the Trump administration.
CLICK HERE AND DONATE TO AN ABORTION FUND IN YOUR AREA TODAY
EPISODE IMAGE: Paul Weyrich, cofounder of the Moral Majority, in a Heritage Foundation portrait from 1982
SOURCES:
- "Creating the Litmus Test: Abortion, Mainline Protestants, and the Rise of the Religious Right" by Sabrina Danielsen
- "Family Values" and the Formation of a Christian Right Agenda by Seth Dowland
- Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right by Randall Balmer
- “How the Right Uses Abortion Restrictions to Reinforce Racist and Gendered Hierarchies” by Cassie Miller, Southern Poverty Law Center
- “Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church’s Constant Teaching” from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
- Historical Abortion Law Timeline: 1850 to Today from Planned Parenthood Action
- “The Religious Right and the Abortion Myth” by Randall Balmer, POLITICO
- "Here's how much the ICE budget would increase under Trump's megabill" by Grace Deng, Snopes
AUDIO CLIPS:
- 42:55 – Ronald Reagan delivers an address to religious leaders at the 1980 National Affairs Briefing
FOLLOW THE SHOW:
- Website: illconceivedpodcast.com
- Bluesky: @illconceivedpodcast.com
- Tumblr: @illconceivedpod
FOLLOW JOSH:
- Website: joshboerman.com
- Bluesky: @bosh.worstpossible.world
- Other podcast: The Worst of All Possible Worlds
- Stream: Traditional Scrench
FOLLOW JUNE:
- Bluesky: @junlper.beer
- Other podcast: Western Kabuki
- Writing: June's Substack
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.