Jesse Jackson, who once defended the rights of preborn humans, has died

Jesse Jackson, a reverend best known for his civil rights advocacy, has died at the age of 84.

Key Takeaways:

• Jackson was born to an unwed teenage mother and grew up in poverty.

• He earned a a football scholarship to the University of Illinois before transferring to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State College, a Historically Black College. He then graduated from the Chicago Theological Seminary and served as a minister.

• Jackson became heavily involved in the civil rights movement and was an ardent pro-life activist until a presidential run in 1984.

The Details:

Jackson died surrounded by loved ones at the age of 84, according to a statement from his family.

"Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”

Today reported:

Jackson had been dealing with health challenges for over a decade. He was initially diagnosed with Parkinson's disease over 10 years ago, but doctors later changed his diagnosis to PSP in April.

PSP [progressive supranuclear palsy] is a rare neurological condition caused by damage to nerve cells in the brain that control certain body movements, like walking, balance and eye movement.

Jackson's family has not shared a cause of death yet. 

Prior to his death, Jackson experienced several health issues. At this time, it's unclear if his death is related to these conditions. 

Zoom In:

After the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackson became the new de facto leader of the civil rights movement. King had been a mentor to Jackson, and Jackson was present at the motel where King was assassinated. Jackson continued to participate in demonstrations, marches, and other advocacy work, and ran for president twice — in 1984 and 1988.

Later in life, his accomplishments included serving as a shadow senator for the District of Columbia, and working with the U.S. government to negotiate multiple hostage releases, for which he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Though it may surprise some, Jackson once included preborn children among the oppressed and voiceless for whom he advocated, pointing to his own conception and upbringing as part of his reason for opposing abortion. In a 1977 essay, he wrote:

The question of abortion confronts me in several different ways. First, although I do not profess to be a biologist, I have studied biology and know something about life from the point of view of the natural sciences. Second, I am a minister of the Gospel and therefore, feel that abortion has a religious and moral dimension that I must consider.

Third, I was born out of wedlock (and against the advice that my mother received from her doctor) and therefore abortion is a personal issue for me. From my perspective, human life is the highest good, the summum bonum . Human life itself is the highest human good and God is the supreme good because He is the giver of life. That is my philosophy. Everything I do proceeds from that religious and philosophical premise.

Life is the highest good and therefore you fight for life, using means consistent with that end. Life is the highest human good not on its own naturalistic merits, but because life is supernatural, a gift from God. Therefore, life is the highest human good because life is sacred.

But his abortion views seemed to change abruptly when he ran for president in 1984, and from then on, Jackson decidedly turned his back on preborn human beings to advocate for the so-called right to kill preborn children.

Yet prior to this time, he worked ardently against abortion, as the pro-life group The Radiance Foundation pointed out in a post on Facebook:

"Many don’t realize that he was once passionately pro-life. Sadly, that changed when he ran for President on the Democratic ticket in 1984. In 1975 he helped establish what is now Care Net, a network of thousands of life-saving, life-changing pregnancy care centers. He spoke in defense of life at the 1977 March for Life in DC. He also worked with Ruth Graham, wife of Rev. Billy Graham, to try to pass a constitutional amendment to ban abortion."

Pro-life advocate Christina Bennett, who goes by the moniker blackprolifewoman on Instagram, also memorialized Jackson in a post, writing:

"I’ve long been saddened by the fact that Jackson stopped speaking against the evils of abortion. His voice was needed, especially for Black America," she wrote. "Nevertheless, I thank him for all he did say. More than some ever have or will. I thank him for his life service on behalf of civil rights and human rights. A life of public service is no easy feat. It comes with enormous responsibility, severe criticism and requires continual endurance."

The Bottom Line:

Jackson is survived by his wife of over 60 years, Jacqueline, as well as five children and several grandchildren.