Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser is the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an American political organization that seeks to advance

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

women in politics.Susan B. Anthony List website
She was brought into the organization as its executive director in 1993, shortly after its founding by Rachel MacNair.

Activism

Seema Verma, Marjorie Dannenfelser, Donald Trump, Diane Black and Penny Nance, April 2017

Pro-abortion rights as a college student, Marjorie Jones was the "pro-choice chair" of the

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jame ...

College Republicans College Republicans are college and university students who support the Republican Party of the United States. Many members belong to the organization College Republican National Committee (CRNC), College Republicans United (CRU), or various in ...

. But a summer spent in a

Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the Conser ...

house for Republican interns changed that, when a "bitter schism erupted between

social conservatives Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...

and libertarians over a pornographic video". This dispute led to her conversion to Catholicism and a new anti-abortion stance, according to a 2010 '' Washington Post'' profile.Horowitz, Jason
"Woman who supported abortion rights experienced evolution that changed her mind"
''Washington Post'', May 14, 2010. After graduating Duke, Dannenfelser worked for the Ronald Reagan administration. In the 1990s, Dannenfelser was the staff director of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, and worked for U.S. House Representative

Alan Mollohan Alan Bowlby Mollohan (born May 14, 1943) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1983 to 2011. He was a member of the Democratic Party and the Blue Dog Coalition. The district encompasses the northern part of th ...

(D-WV), whom the SBA List later worked to defeat in the 2010 Democratic primary. Mollohan was defeated in the primary by Mike Oliverio. Dannenfelser re-organized the

Susan B. Anthony List Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (formerly Susan B. Anthony List) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the U.S. by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its SBA List ...

in 1997 after SBA List founder Rachel MacNair brought her on board as the first experienced political activist to join the group.History of SBA List
Soon afterwards, Dannenfelser was joined by Jane Abraham to turn the SBA List away from MacNair's bipartisan and liberal credo, moving to a

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...

-oriented group. Dannenfelser and Abrahama led SBA List until 2006, when Dannenfelser assumed both the chairman and president positions. The organization, headquartered in

Washington, D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, N ...

, lobbies law-makers, and spends millions of dollars per year supporting candidates. Dannenfelser endorsed the unsuccessful

John McCain 2008 presidential campaign The 2008 presidential campaign of John McCain, the longtime senior U.S. Senator from Arizona, was launched with an informal announcement on February 28, 2007, during a live taping of the ''Late Show with David Letterman'', and formally laun ...

. She supported McCain's running mate Sarah Palin, an anti-abortion politician, noting that McCain alone did not engage the "disaffected" pro-life voter bloc. Dannenfelser called Palin the "

poster child A poster child (sometimes poster boy or poster girl) is, according to the original meaning of the term, a child afflicted by some disease or deformity whose picture is used on posters or other media as part of a campaign to raise money or enlist ...

" for the anti-abortion cause, though she later said Palin became a "great disappointment." In September 2016, Dannenfelser became Donald Trump's campaign "Pro-Life Coalition" leader.

Personal life

Marjorie Jones was born and raised in Greenville, North Carolina.''The Washington Post'', quoted in ''Get Religion''
/ref> She grew up as an

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

, and attended

. She married Martin Dannenfelser who later served as vice president of the evangelical political activist group

Family Research Council The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American evangelical activist group and think-tank with an affiliated lobbying organization. FRC promotes what it considers to be family values. It opposes and lobbies against: access to pornography, emb ...

. They had both worked as Congressional aides in 1990. The two live in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

, where they raised five children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dannenfelser, Marjorie 1960s births Alliance Defending Freedom people Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Greenville, North Carolina College Republicans American anti-abortion activists People from Arlington County, Virginia Duke University alumni Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism Susan B. Anthony List Virginia Republicans Catholics from Virginia Catholics from North Carolina

Activism

Personal life

See also

References

External links