The Fall of Roe: The Rise of a New America

Roe v. Wade was brought down by “an elite strike force of Christian lawyers and power brokers” who, galvanized by the 2012 reelection of Barack Obama, enacted “a transformational decade” of behind-the-scenes change in American politics, according to this sweeping debut account. New York Times journalists Dias and Lerer recap how—in a departure from the “grassroots” tactics used to combat Roe since 1973, which mainly involved attempting to sway voters—this new, smaller coalition “methodically and secretly” worked to enact “a strategic, top-down takeover” that involved getting anti-abortion judges appointed, lobbying state legislatures to pass tighter abortion restrictions, and (in the wake of Missouri congressman Todd Akin’s use of the phrase “legitimate rape,” which lost him his seat in 2012) cleaning up how Republican candidates talk about their anti-abortion views. “They were far more organized than their opponents... ever knew,” Dias and Lerer assert, tracking the group’s tenacious leaders, including Susan B. Anthony List founder Marjorie Dannenfelser, and juxtaposing them with Planned Parenthood head Cecile Richards, whom the authors depict as caught playing defense. Dias and Lerer astutely highlight that, once Roe was overthrown, this same coalition moved on to other avenues for litigating the role of women in society, including promoting an anti-trans agenda. It’s a devastating postmortem of a resounding conservative political victory. (June)