Lawrence Abbott was exposed to pacifism in 1965 after attending a talk by Staughton Lynn. In March 1967 Abbott registered for the draft and indicated CO (conscientious objector) on his selective service form. Despite this, he was designated 1-H meaning that while he was not immediately susceptible to being drafted his CO status had been denied for the time being. During his time studying in college—sometime between 1966 and 1970—his selective service status had been updated to 2-S. With this new designation he was deferred from the draft due to his activity involved in study.

While in college Abbott joined both the Students for a Democratic Society and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. As a member of these groups, he participated in anti-war marches in New York City and Washington, D.C. in 1967. After graduating from college he moved to San Francisco, CA and while living there participated in an anti-war protest in April 1971. At this point, Abbott had lost his 2-H status and was made to appear before his local draft board where he was questioned on his beliefs relating to war and pacifism and was granted the 1-0 draft classification officially marking him as a conscientious objector. In May of 1971 he moved to the Boston area where he worked in hospitals as part of his CO service until 1972.