WASHINGTON — In the 30 years since the U.S. Supreme Court declared abortion a constitutional right, many men and women have worked tirelessly to reestablish legal protection for all humans, especially children not yet born.

Some individuals have stepped into the heat of a public debate at the risk of their political career.

One man who lost perhaps the most for his defense of the unborn was the late Pennsylvania Gov. Bob Casey.

“He clearly would have been president were it not for his pro-life conviction,” speculated Michael Schwartz, a veteran of the pro-life movement who now works at Concerned Women for America, a pro-family public policy organization.

Casey served two terms as governor of Pennsylvania but was not allowed to speak to the 1992 Democratic National Convention because he was pro-life.

“They barred him at the door while pro-abortion Republicans from Pennsylvania were allowed to speak,” Schwartz said.

Ray Flynn, the former mayor of Boston and former ambassador to the Vatican, also applauded Casey's legacy.

“The political philosophy he had is the winning philosophy,” Flynn said. “The conservatives are represented, the liberals are represented. The only groups not represented are the pro-life, pro-family and pro-social and -economic justice [groups].”

Flynn also considered current Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and current New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith, both Republican, to be pro-life heroes.

But Flynn, a lifelong Democrat and Bush supporter, noted that most pro-life legislation requires the votes of pro-life Democrats in the House.

“I have a lot of respect for Jim Barcia from Michigan,” he said.

Barcia, a Democrat, recently retired from Congress after defending the unborn for years, Flynn said.

Darla St. Martin put Smith and Illinois Republican Rep. Henry Hyde at the top of her list.

She's executive vice president of the National Right to Life Committee, which is also 30 years old this year. It was founded in 1973 to allow state organizations to cooperate in the fight against abortion on the national level. “Hyde and Smith have provided outstanding leadership and dedication over so many years,” she said.

St. Martin noted that religious leaders have stepped forward as well. She praised Bishop James McHugh and Cardinal Terence Cooke, both of New York, for educating fellow bishops and lay people about the dangers of abortion.

“They had a tremendous impact on the Church and on society,” she said.

But Catholics are not the only pro-life heroes, she noted. Francis Schaefer, an evangelical author and lecturer, educated many different Protestant denominations about abortion. St. Martin also mentioned Kay James, who worked hard on the pro-life cause in the black community.

Many pro-life activists are familiar with the work done by Henry Hyde and Bob Casey, but fewer people know about individuals who work behind the scenes, said Austin Ruse, president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, an organization that works on behalf of pro-life issues within the United Nations.

One person whose heroics are “notoriously under the radar” is Michael Uhlmann, who wrote the Human Life Amendment when he worked for Sen. James Buckley of New York, Ruse noted. While working for President Ronald Reagan, Uhlmann wrote the so-called Mexico City policy, which makes it illegal for U.S. money to be used for supporting abortion overseas.

“I am certain he has done much else that he will not talk about and that we will not know about until the general judgment,” Ruse said.

Uhlmann isn't the only unsung hero.

Ruse credited Amherst College professor Hadley Arkes for his dedicated scholarship and activism that bore fruit in the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act. President Bush signed that law last Aug. 5.

“His ‘modest first step,’ which calls for the protection of the child who survives abortion,” Ruse said, “may not be so modest after all and may be the pivot upon which turns our future victory.”

When Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina and Phil Gramm of Texas announced their retirements and when Sen. Bob Smith of New Hampshire lost his seat to primary challenger John Sununu, many pro-life activists were worried about the future of the U.S. Senate. Many were worried that Kansas' Brownback and Pennsylvania's Santorum, both Republicans, would be the only vocal pro-lifers in the Senate.

But the incoming freshman senators have brought some people hope.

Schwartz of Concerned Women for America said he was impressed by Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman's performance in a Senate debate right before Election Day.

“Coleman understood what he had to say,” Schwartz said of the new senator. “He proved you don't have to be [disagreeable] to be a conservative. He stood on his principles and came off as a nice guy.”

In the debate, Coleman refused to back away from his pro-life views and actually turned the tables on his opponent, Walter Mondale, Schwartz said.

“I watched that and became a wholehearted Coleman fan,” he added. “I also have a lot of respect for Jim Talent and Lindsey Graham,” who were elected from Missouri and South Carolina, respectively.

“Now Brownback and Santorum have some reinforcements,” Schwartz said.

The situation has also improved in the House, according to Connie Mackay of the Family Research Council. Her group was founded by James Dobson to continue work he did on the White House Conference on Families in 1980. It has since become independent of Dobson's other organizations.

Mackay, the organization's chief government affairs representative, noted that strong pro-lifers are included in the freshman class, including Iowa Republican Steve King, South Carolina Republican Scott Garrett and Arizona Republican Trent Franks.

Three new pro-life Democrats were also elected, she noted. They are Tim Ryan of Ohio, Lincoln Davis of Tennessee and Michael Michaud of Maine.

“It remains to be seen who will be outspoken on life issues, but certainly a number of these will offer a strong voice for life,” Mackay said. “I think it can be said that the 108th Congress will be slightly more pro-life than the 107th.”

Several activists maintain that “hero” is not an apt term for the pro-life movement to use.

Judie Brown is head of the American Life League, which she founded in 1979 at her kitchen table and has grown to be a major player in the pro-life movement. Her organization's no-nonsense attitude is summed up by its motto: “Pro-life, without exception, without compromise, without apology.”

Asked about pro-life heroes, she said, “My response to this is very simple. In the political arena no one to my mind wears a halo because I cannot recall who among the 535 members of Congress commits himself or herself to personhood from conception and never abides making babies exceptions to the rule. Therefore, the heroes I would have in mind are not involved with politics.”

She did single out for praise former senators Bob Smith of New Hampshire and Jesse Helms of North Carolina, both Republicans.

Brown also admires Colleen Parro of the National Republican Coalition for Life.

Scott Fischbach also thinks the term “heroes” might be an overshot. He's the executive director of Minnesota Concerned Citizens for Life, which was founded in 1968, is affiliated with National Right to Life Committee and has seen some important victories in the state.

“Heroes? I think that is too strong of a term,” he said. “We have some people that are committed to the cause, but often you still have to whack them into doing what we need done.”

A problem exists on the other end as well, he said.

“Some that are extremely committed go over the edge and off the agenda that we have developed…so we have always stayed away from declaring too many heroes,” Fischbach said.

But Ruse thinks perhaps the greatest impact in advancing a culture of life is the tireless work of activists.

“These are the folks who get absolutely none of the glory, who stuff envelopes and ring doorbells, who pray in front of the abortuaries and care for the unwed mothers,” Ruse said.

“In my work as a U.N. lobbyist, I get the distinct impression I am far from the real action, far from the front lines,” he said. “These people in the trenches are the real heroes in this battle for hearts and minds.”

Joshua Mercer writes from Washington, D.C.