What the Anti-Choice Movement Will Do Next

Here is a list of the “5 Dirty Tricks Right-Wing Zealots Will Likely Try Next in Their Battle to Control Women” by Amanda Marcotte (via AlterNet), and she concludes that there hasn’t been “a more sustained assault on women’s rights in recent memory as what we saw in 2011.”

“The anti-choice movement showed its true face in 2011. No longer can liberals believe that anti-choicers are just goofy but well-meaning fetus worshippers. Now it’s undeniable that they are mainly an anti-feminist movement that attacks women’s rights because they want to roll back all of the gains women have made in recent decades. Showing their true face has helped educate and mobilize people who were pro-choice but unaware of how serious the situation really is. Now that we know, perhaps 2012 can be the year we double down on fighting back.”

Tanya Somanader writes in Thinkprogress Health about  The GOP’s 10 Most Extreme Attacks On A Woman’s Right To Choose An Abortion, which include the redefinition of rape, abortion audits and forced ultrasounds to name just a few:

“2011 marked a banner year in the Republican war on woman’s health. Close to 1,000 anti-abortion bills sped through state legislatures as the GOP-led House led a “comprehensive and radical assault” on a federal level. But in surveying their arsenal this year, 10 bills stood out as particularly perturbing and far-reaching efforts to stymie women’s access to abortion services, birth control, and vital health services like breast cancer screenings.” 

 

2011: A Bad Year for Reproductive Rights

According to an article in The Economist titled “Unintended Issues,”

“Last year saw a surge in social conservatism. It has been said that social issues inspire Americans to vote against their economic interests: a factory worker elects an anti-abortion Republican; in return he gets anti-union laws. Last year the adage was reversed. In 2010 Americans voted for economic austerity; in 2011 they got abortion restrictions. For those who oppose abortion, it was the most promising year in decades.”

Sarah Kliff wrote in The Washington Post under the headline ” The year of the abortion restrictions,”

“[A] rise in the number of anti-abortion governors and legislators has an enormous impact on the abortion rights landscape, paving the way for laws that could shape access for years to come.”

Jezebel posted in its 2011 year in review a sobering account under the headline “The year in your uterus” and concluded:

“It’s been a wild year for your uterus, and 2012 promises to be even crazier. We’ve got a Presidential election to look forward to, and political candidates love to talk about their agenda for your uterus when they try to win votes. Best festoon the thing in red, white, and blue; they’ve set up camp in your uterus, and they’re not going away any time soon.”