[1] In June 1978 she earned a bachelor of arts degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, graduating with honors.
[7] In 1979, MacNair joined Prolifers for Survival, a group formed by Juli Loesch to merge anti-abortion and anti-nuclear activism into a consistent life ethic.
[1] In June 1984, while she was pregnant with her only child, MacNair began serving as president of Feminists for Life of America (FFL).
"[9] MacNair worked mostly alone in her position, operating FFL out of an office inside a crisis pregnancy center on East 47th Street in Kansas City.
[10][11] MacNair wished to counter EMILY's List by providing early campaign funds to anti-abortion women candidates.
[16][17] She named Kansas governor Joan Finney and Louisiana Representative Lindy Boggs as examples of ideal politicians—liberal women, not candidates holding right-wing beliefs.
[21] They were succeeded by experienced political activists Marjorie Dannenfelser and then Jane Abraham, changing the aim of the group away from bipartisan candidates.
She pored over the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study, analyzed the nearly 1700 questionnaires in a new manner, and found that soldiers who reported having killed someone were more likely to suffer psychological harm.
In July 2004, The New Yorker quoted MacNair regarding PITS; following this, the Los Angeles Times cited her as an expert on veteran psychology.
[8] In October 2004, director David O. Russell shot footage of MacNair speaking about PTSD and PITS for his documentary Soldiers Pay.
[8] Co-director Juan Carlos Zaldívar said, "She made really interesting contributions that we think are valid and should be part of the conversation of PTSD today.