His wife, Marjory Mecklenburg grew up in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, and they were high school debating partners before marriage.
[7] He had a practice in Edina, Minnesota until relocating to the Washington, D. C. area in 1981, when his wife was appointed by Ronald Reagan to Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
[13] In 1972, he authored a book chapter, "The Indications for Induced Abortion: A Physician's Perspective", which argued in part that pregnancy from rape "is extremely rare.
"[15] Journalist Blythe Bernhard stated, "That article has influenced two generations of anti-abortion activists with the hope to build a medical case to ban all abortions without any exception.
"[16] In 1975, Mecklenburg testified as an expert witness in a manslaughter prosecution against a Boston obstetrician, and criticized the abortion procedure used by the defendant.