Reading The Fall of Roe

I’m reading The Fall of Roe: The Rise of a New America which chronicles the pro-life activists against the pro-choice activities of the last 50 years since Roe v Wade was settled precedent. New York Times reporters Elizabeth Dias and Lisa Lerer write about how for pro-choice activists, their naivety and belief that Roe was settled precedent that would be untouched while pro-life activists used their good fortune of President Trump’s appointment of federalist society approved Supreme Court justices in their efforts to overturn Roe.

The book is an important piece of reporting into how each side utilizes their efforts to coalesce around this issue. For many pro-life activists, this is the most important and life affirming issue for their Christian worldview. It’s important to note that strategy was used to overturn Roe. The pro life activists hoped to challenge the Supreme Court through different circuit courts who would uphold different decisions on Roe forcing the Supreme Court to act as the law of the land and make the final decision.

Pro-life activists strategically worked to write laws that would force Roe to be overturned. Their strategy hinged on overturning Roe like the final boss character in a video game. They worked to challenge the undue burden clause of Planned Parenthood v Casey with a 15-week abortion ban, which would force different circuit courts to rule differently on whether this law was unconstitutional. They made medically inaccurate claims like when a fetus can feel pain, hoping to sway to their cause through emotional arguments.

It’s important to note that pro choice activists really did not think that Roe was in play and naively worked as if Roe was settled precedent whereas the pro-life activists did not operate within this framework. Planned Parenthood under the auspices of Cecilia Richards operated as a wing of the Democratic Party apparatus focused on mobilizing voters and political involvement. They held a strong position during the Obama years and hoped to follow a potential President Hillary Clinton into an optimistic pro-choice culture of America.

When Clinton failed to be elected President, Cecilia Richards eventually left Planned Parenthood and was replaced with individuals more intent on making Planned Parenthood a medical facility versus a political operation. With this change, it opened the floodgates to a pro-life movement intent on mobilizing its minority opinion as the law of the land and taking advantage of Planned Parenthood’s recalibration as a medical facility over a political organization. Pro-life activists were undeterred by being the minority opinion in the country, but were hell bent on overturning Roe v. Wade.

The Dobbs decision proved to be a perfect confluence of events, as Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, and Barrett, appointed by Trump were able to make the final determination on Roe. The political maneuvers that Supreme Court Justices make in their confirmation hearings of Roe as settled precedent were just talking points and not indicative of where these justices stood on Roe. For decades, the American public has listened to this horse and pony show of finding out whether Republican appointees have opinions on Roe and where they stand, only to have the rights of bodily autonomy taken from women in the decision established by Dobbs. Never mind that it was clear that the leak of the Dobbs decision was more important to the Supreme Court than the decision itself.

The Fall of Roe: The Rise of a New America pits Cecilia Richards, the President of Planned Parenthood against the Marjorie Dannenfelser, the leader of the Susan B Anthony List, a pro-life organization. The book chronicles the last ten years of policies and administrations that ultimately led to the decision to overturn Roe v Wade. It is told with unbiased and equally sympathetic figures on both sides without any regard for where the reporters themselves stand on the issues. It’s an important read to see how pro-life activists were so intent on overturning Roe that they made it their life’s mission or their calling. In a country where abortion is still a contentious issue, how we talk about abortion in the coming years will have a lasting impact on the policies and precedent set forth by the Supreme Court, Congress, and the President.