Lessons from the terrible triumph of the pro-life movement

I fear that some abortion-rights activists are learning the wrong lessons from their enemies’ triumph, taking inspiration from the most confrontational anti-abortion forces. A string of apparent arsons at anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers mimics years of pro-life assaults on abortion clinics. (So far, mercifully, the arsons haven’t caused any injuries.) Before Dr. Barnett Slepian, a Buffalo abortion provider, was assassinated in 1998, protesters followed his children to their grade school. Recently a shadowy pro-choice outfit called Ruth Sent Us hinted at doing something similar to the kids of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, tweeting about the school they attend.

Besides being immoral, these tactics suggest a misunderstanding of how the anti-abortion movement got to this point. Anti-abortion terrorism has been correlated with greater support for abortion rights, harming the political campaign to reverse Roe. That campaign prevailed because of a movement that spent decades mastering the nuts and bolts of American politics, persisting despite years of failure and disappointment.

This doesn’t just mean “vote harder.” It means contesting every level of power, all the time, including local elections, judicial selections and administrative rule-making. It means drawing people into a community that will make continuous struggle seem rewarding rather than depleting.