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U.S. abortion opponents on what shaped their activism

STORY: Anti-abortion activists have fought for years to see the U.S. Supreme Court reverse Roe v. Wade

The ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion in 1973

Location: Kansas City, Kansas

"We believe that this is not primarily a religious issue. It's a human rights issue. And that's important because it's accessible to everybody by reason. You don't have to have faith to know that taking an innocent human life is wrong.”

Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann led anti-abortion efforts

"I think those that support legalized abortion felt that if they could keep it legal this long, the issue would be settled. And I'm very proud of the pro-life community in this country that has kept this issue alive for 50 years now. And I think for those of us that have worked on this, this is a day that many of us feared would never come, the possibility where we could again protect women and children from the tragedy that is every abortion. So I'm very hopeful about that.”

Location: Sacramento, California

“Here in California, organizations like mine are going to have to work very hard to sort of speak and help people understand what we're about and to change hearts and minds. So it goes back to the local sort of grassroots movement that my grandparents started in 1967, before Roe versus Wade. Like we're sort of, we've come full circle back to where we ultimately began."

Theresa Brennan took over at the helm of the Right to Life League

"So I would like to think that they would be very proud of the work that I'm doing. And I have to say, even when I began working in this movement in 2020, I don't think I even thought that it was possible that we would have an overturn of Roe versus Wade in this amount of time. So I think they would be proud."

Location: Jackson, Mississippi

“My job was to identify all the parts of the baby so that I was sure I had a complete abortion done. Otherwise, the patient could show up in 48, 72 hours with an infected incomplete abortion.”

Dr. Beverly McMillan had a change of heart in the 70s

"I had one of those 'a-ha' moments. I just suddenly remembered my youngest son, who was probably around four at the time, I guess, always trying to keep up his big brothers so he would come around and show me his big muscle. And it just, it just struck me that, you know, what have I done? What have I been doing? Five minutes ago, this was a perfectly beautiful, intact little boy's body. And now it's here in pieces and from that point on, I just completely lost my ability to do abortions."