Michael Thompson (Louisiana politician)

Michael Francis "Mike" Thompson (born 1942) is a home builder from Lafayette, Louisiana, who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972-88. Thompson was a Democrat for his first six years of service, but he switched to the Republican Party for the balance of his tenure. He was defeated for reelection in the 1987 general election by a "No Party" candidate, who served only one term. Thompson is particularly remembered for his strong support of the right-to-life cause. A Roman Catholic, he graduated from Tulane University Law School.

Supporting conservative causes

In 1976, as he entered his second term in the legislature, Thompson and several conservative colleagues, including Daniel Wesley "Dan" Richey of Ferriday, Louisiana, cast critical votes in the House Civil Law Committee against the proposed Equal Rights Amendment, which lost 5-9 in the panel and was therefore not referred to the full House for an up-or-down vote. Thompson's right-to-life supporters organized against the ERA on the premise that if implemented it would have federalized family law. Therefore, they convinced the lawmaker to reverse his previously stated support for the ERA. Lafayette has been a center of antiabortion activism since the U.S. Supreme Court issued the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, which legalized access to abortion.

Certain Lafayette physicians signed a statement declaring that life begins before birth and vowed not to perform abortions, which...
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