Marjorie Dannenfelser

Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser is the President of the Susan B. Anthony List, an American political organization that seeks to advance anti-abortion women in politics.[2] She was brought into the organization as its executive director in 1993, shortly after its founding.[3]

Marjorie Dannenfelser
Dannenfelser at the White House in 2017
Born
Marjorie Jones

1965/1966 (age 54–55)[1]
Greenville, North Carolina
OccupationPresident of the Susan B. Anthony List

Activism
Seema Verma, Marjorie Dannenfelser, Donald Trump, Diane Black, and Penny Nance in the Oval Office, April 2017

Pro-abortion rights as a college student, Marjorie Jones was the "pro-choice chair" of the Duke University College Republicans. But a summer spent in a Heritage Foundation house for Republican interns changed that, when a "bitter schism erupted between social conservatives and libertarians over a pornographic video". This dispute led to her conversion to Catholicism and the founding of the Susan B. Anthony List, according to a 2010 Washington Post profile.[1]

Prior to founding the Susan B. Anthony List, Dannenfelser was the staff director of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus,[2] and worked for U.S. House Representative Alan Mollohan (D-WV), whom the SBA List later worked to defeat in the 2010 Democratic primary.[1][4] Mollohan was defeated in the primary by the anti-abortion Mike Oliverio.

Dannenfelser began running the SBA List in 1993 out of her home in Arlington, Virginia, after SBA List founder Rachel MacNair brought her on board as the first experienced political activist to join the group.[3][5] Soon afterwards, Dannenfelser was joined by Jane Abraham, and the two led SBA List from 1993 to 2006, when Dannenfelser assumed both the chairman and president positions. The organization, headquartered in Washington, D. C., lobbies law-makers, and spends millions of dollars per year supporting candidates.

In August 2013, Newsmax magazine named Dannenfelser one of the "25 Most Influential Republican Women", citing her work as SBA List president.[6]

In September 2016, Dannenfelser agreed to become Donald Trump's campaign "Pro-Life Coalition" leader.[7]

Personal life

Marjorie Jones was born and raised in Greenville, North Carolina.[8] She grew up as an Episcopalian, and attended Duke University. She later converted to Roman Catholicism.[8] She says her conversion was partly motivated by the Catholic Church's emphasis on the Virgin Mary, and the "feminine genius" she represents.[9]

She and her husband, Marty Dannenfelser, live in Arlington, Virginia, with their five children.[2][10]

See also

References
  1. Horowitz, Jason, "Woman who supported abortion rights experienced evolution that changed her mind", Washington Post, May 14, 2010.
  2. Susan B. Anthony List website Archived 2010-05-28 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Dannenfelser, Marjorie (1997). "Exotic Fruits of Grace". Crisis. Brownson Institute. 15 (1): 30–33.
  4. Barr, Andy (May 12, 2010). "Right claiming Mollohan scalp". Politico.
  5. History of SBA List Archived 2010-07-25 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Meyers, Jim. "Newsmax Exclusive: The 25 Influential Women of the GOP". Newsmax. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  7. Trump, Donald. "A Letter Invitation for Pro-Life Coalition" (PDF). SBA. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  8. Washington Post, quoted in Get Religion
  9. Miller, Lisa, "A feminine face for the anti-abortion movement", Washington Post, November 2, 2011.
  10. Ertelt, S., John McCain Gains Support From Prominent Catholic Pro-Life Advocates, LifeNews.com, March 10, 2008
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