The anti-abortion measures weren’t without precedent—seven years earlier, Pennsylvania had attempted to enact a slightly different set of restrictions, only for the law to be deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1986. But conservative Pennsylvania lawmakers remained undeterred: Freind, who led the state’s attacks on abortion rights, knew he still had the votes to push through similar measures restricting abortion. During his tenure, the Pennsylvania state legislature passed an anti-abortion law nearly every year; Freind brags he never lost a vote.“We weren’t as strong then as we are today. We’re much better organized now, and we know what we have to do."
When Smeal proposed the March for Women’s Lives on the National Mall in 1986, she said some feared not enough women would come out to make an impact. Instead, about 100,000 people attended the march, and, three years later, the group turned out at least 300,000 for protests in advance of the Supreme Court’s Webster v. Reproductive Health Services decision, which allowed states to restrict the use of public funding and facilities for abortion care, and bar public employees from performing abortions.By the time 1992 came around, Smeal said, the movement had gotten stronger and more organized. Feminist groups held another March for Women’s Lives, days before arguments began for Planned Parenthood v. Casey, where at least half a million people gathered—one the largest crowds ever to march in the Capitol at the time.“Legislators in other states would call me for advice on how to advance anti-abortion legislation. I was terrified because I was the point man, and because everyone was watching us."
“We wanted to show the extent to which there was going to be political consequences to taking away the right for women to make this decision,” Smeal said. “Women were going to remember in November.”Feminist leaders say that’s just one more thing that’s different now: Organizing can happen much faster, and large swaths of the American electorate appear to understand more clearly the gravity of anti-abortion legislation. In the hours after Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed a near-total abortion ban last month, people flooded local and national abortion funds, leading to a massive spike in donations. Days later, thousands of abortion rights supporters attended the more than 400 “Stop the Bans” rallies across the country, with calls to protect Roe v. Wade.Women in particular have become unapologetic about speaking out for abortion rights, Kolbert said—a huge boon for the contemporary movement to preserve Roe. “The vast majority of Americans believe in choice, and that’s a place of political power,” Kolbert said. “What I learned in Casey more than anything is that, up until [1992], we didn’t want to assert that power. It felt uncomfortable. Women didn’t want to make waves.”Some believe female outrage, now widely recognized as an effective political tool, has a big role to play in fighting current threats to federal abortion rights. If the Supreme Court doesn’t want to be perceived as a political body, if it cares about its institutional integrity, and if it has any modicum of concern about public opinion, perhaps the best way to protect Roe v. Wade is being as loud as possible about it.With the 1992 presidential election fast approaching, Kolbert sought to make sure the Supreme Court handed down its decision overturning Roe v. Wade in time for voters to express their outrage at the ballot box.
It turned out that the court had a vested interest in preserving its integrity, and following its own precedents—something justices on the current court have shown little regard for as of late. Last June, the court overturned its own ruling in Janus v. AFCME, and in May did the same in Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt. Neither case had to do with abortion, but each erased 40 years of precedent.Many consider the tax case a sign that justices would not shy from doing the same with Roe v. Wade, including the court’s liberal justices: In his dissenting opinion on Hyatt, Stephen Breyer cited Planned Parenthood v. Casey in a warning to his conservative colleagues about overturning precedent. “Today’s decision can only cause one to wonder which cases the Court will overrule next,” Breyer wrote. When the Supreme Court voted to override its own ruling once again on Friday, Justice Elena Kagan added: “Well, that didn’t take long.”That doesn’t mean political organizing is for naught. Pro-choice organizers say that since they can no longer depend on the court to stand by its past rulings, the fight to protect abortion rights must now be fought primarily through electoral politics—just as Kolbert recognized in 1992. NOW said that it has no intention to organize another March for Women’s Lives; the group has said it’s currently putting its resources toward the 2020 election. “We are encouraging our members to march to the polls in November!” the site’s FAQ page reads."I was surprised it was effective in '92, but I would be more surprised if it were effective today."
The Feminist Majority Foundation, NARAL, and Emily's List are also focused on flipping seats in state legislatures, winning gubernatorial races, and regaining a majority in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats could pass federal legislation securing abortion rights in the absence of Roe with enough votes—and with a Democratic president who would sign it.Indeed, many of the new protections for abortion rights have come about because of progressive gains at the state level, like in Maine, where Governor Janet Mills has expanded abortion access since defeating her Republican predecessor, Paul LePage, in November. Other states like New York, Nevada, Illinois, Vermont, and Rhode Island have also passed legislation to enshrine abortion rights in state law, and all in 2019 alone.That wasn’t the case in 1992, and some say it puts the pro-choice movement in a better position to protect abortion rights in the absence of Roe than 27 years ago.“Frankly, I was more worried in 1992 than I am now,” Smeal said. “But there is a real, clear and present threat. We should be signaling the alarm.”Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.Pro-choice organizers say that since they can no longer depend on the court to stand by its past rulings, the fight to protect abortion rights must now be fought primarily through electoral politics.