In the 1960s and 1970s , pro-life Democrats comprised a substantial portion of the Party 's membership in the United States Congress and the United States Senate . Some Democratic presidential and vice-presidential candidates ran for those offices as pro-life , including Hubert Humphrey and Sargent Shriver . Others were once pro-life before running , such as Ted Kennedy , Jesse Jackson , Bill Clinton and Al Gore . In the 1980s , the influence of pro-life advocates in the Democratic Party declined slowly but considerably . At the 1992 Democratic National Convention , pro-life Governor Robert Casey of Pennsylvania was allegedly " barred from addressing the Convention because of his antiabortion views " . The official reason given by the Convention organizers was that Casey was not allowed to speak because he did not support the Democratic ticket . Kathy Taylor , a pro-choice activist from Pennsylvania , instead addressed the convention . Taylor was a Republican who had worked for Casey 's opponent in the previous gubernatorial election . Several pro-life Democrats did address the delegates in 1992 , though they did not address the pro-life stance , and were not given prominent prime time slots . Governor Casey 's son Bob Casey , Jr. , also a pro-life Democrat , spoke during the 2008 Democratic National Convention
1992 Democratic National Convention
1992 Democratic National Convention
Democrats for Life of America