Affiliation:
1. * Consistent with the principle of calling people by the name they prefer, I use the term “pro-life” throughout this essay to refer to the social movement that seeks to reduce or eliminate abortion.
Abstract
What lies ahead for the longstanding politics of abortion in the United States now that a constitutional right to abortion has ended and—more generally—conservative politics have been consumed by the rise of the MAGA movement led by Donald Trump? I contextualize the state of abortion politics today within the larger half-century history of the battle over the issue by identifying four stages of abortion politics. I then offer some observations on the key political maneuvers that made the overthrow of Roe v. Wade possible. Finally, I outline how the central questions for the future of abortion lie at the intersection of the pro-life movement, the Republican Party, and the MAGA movement.