Home True: An Idaho politician changed his name to 'Pro-Life'.

True: An Idaho politician changed his name to 'Pro-Life'.

By: Gayathri Loka

February 18 2021

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True: An Idaho politician changed his name to 'Pro-Life'.

Fact-Check

The Verdict True

'Pro-Life' (formerly Marvin Thomas Richardson), an American perennial candidate, legally changed his name to show his opposition to abortion.

'Pro-Life' (formerly Marvin Thomas Richardson), an American perennial candidate, legally changed his name to show his opposition to abortion.'Pro-Life' was born as Marvin Thomas Richardson on August 5, 1941, in Carbon County, Wyoming. After graduating from high school, Richardson served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona, California, and Nevada from 1962 to 1964. He resigned from the church in 1998 because the church did not recognize personhood rights for "preborn children." His career included stints as a strawberry farmer in Colorado and a caterpillar dealer in Nevada. Richardson was an anti-abortion activist for years. In 2004 he first changed his middle name to "Pro-Life". As 'Marvin Pro-Life Richardson', he was denied the use of his middle name when he ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006 because the state's policy barred the use of slogans on the ballot. In 2008 Richardson legally changed his name to Pro-Life. According to a report by CBS News, " Officials in the Idaho secretary of state's office said they had no choice but to put his name on the ballot because 'Pro-Life' was his full and only name. He said that he will run for the highest state office on the ballot every two years for the rest of his life, advocating murder charges for doctors who perform abortions and for women who obtain the procedure."

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