As I’ve been reflecting on the one-year anniversary of Roe’s dissolution, I don’t feel angry, I feel grateful. Life doesn’t happens to us— it happens for us. And I can’t think of a better example than abortion rights, to illustrate this prosaic adage.
If America was a movie, abortion would straight up be the prom queen. It now has the support of 70% of Americans which means it has a higher approval rating than Congress and the Supreme Court combined. Most politicians wouldn’t even dream of having such widespread appeal. In fact, if abortion was running for office, it would be blowing everyone else out of the water. Donald Trump, who is the Republican fr*ntrunner and who spent the weekend taking about how much he loves his medieval abortion bans, is himself less popular than the abortion rights he’s trying to squash.
Abortion is popping. As Elaine Godfrey points out at The Atlantic, “rather than growing less salient over time, abortion may even have gained potency.” The overturning of Roe v Wade was a clarifying moment for many Americans, a quarter of which report that “recent efforts to block abortion access have made them more supportive of abortion bans, not less.” In other words, get in the car loser, we’re voting pro-choice.
Thinking about the next election gives my hives, more hives, but I am heartened by the fact, that the more anti-choice politicians talk about getting rid of abortion, the more America becomes resolute in wanting to keep it. My prediction is that the growing love for abortion rights, will only expand, and that thanks to Republicans, abortion rights will become a staple, and a necessary piece of the fabric of our democracy. I believe abortion will be considered as American, as apple pie.