It looks like sometime in June, the Supreme Court will finish Roe vs. Wade as a constitutional protection for women's right to abortion. It is a cautionary tale of how precarious many of our supposed "rights" are and how a determined minority can overturn established precedents.
The right was not originally seriously opposed to Roe. There were a few anti-abortion activists, but they got little traction with most people. That changed when the unholy alliance of evangelical protestants and the republican party united around the "evils" of slutty women and their use of abortion to lead a wanton lifestyle.
Opposition to Roe comes down to punishing women for their sexuality. In a patriarchal society, men's control over women's reproductive capacity is key to controlling them. Many women are fine with men in charge, but there are fewer with each generation. The problem is most people support women's rights, but it is not the overriding issue when they vote. This needs to change if real gains are to be protected.
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