Christian conservatives purged pro-choice Republicans only by the mid-1990s

Evidence

The closing of the Republican mind took more than a decade. A pro-choice movement persisted in the Republican Party all the way up through the early 1990s. Yet it grew increasingly isolated and forlorn. At the Republican National Convention in 1996, the influence of Christian conservatives had become so strong that pro-choice Republicans Weld and Wilson were “bumped from prime speaking roles.” Until at long last it was over, and the Republican Party became the party of Life. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 271

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Abortion opposition once spanned both parties and was not partisan — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 270; Conservatives commandeered the once-diverse antiabortion movement — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the…, 170; Conservatives seized the antiabortion movement and turned it statist — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the…, 172 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Conservatives commandeered the once-diverse antiabortion movement #expands (0.85) — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 170
• Conservatives seized the antiabortion movement and turned it statist #expands (0.82) — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 172
• The Religious Right adopted abortion only after racial segregation failed to rally voters #corroborates (0.80) — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 121
• Abortion was not a key evangelical voting issue before 1979. #corroborates (0.80) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 246
• Evangelical opposition to abortion was initially uncertain and politically constructed #corroborates (0.78) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 160
• Few evangelical voices spoke against abortion through most of the 1970s #corroborates (0.75) — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 122