By Amanda Marcotte, Alternet
Here are some predictions for where the anti-choice movement will try to go in 2012.
Has there been a more sustained assault on women's rights in recent memory as what we saw in 2011? Republicans swept the House and many state governments in the 2010 election, and made attacking reproductive rights a major priority, right next to destroying union power and making it harder for students, poor people and people of color to vote. Republicans waged war on womenÂ’s ability to pay for an abortion, get an abortion without being needlessly hassled, get an abortion at a location within a dayÂ’s drive, or access affordable contraception. It seemed like not a week passed without another outrageous attack on womenÂ’s rights. ItÂ’s tempting to think that 2012 has to be better, on the grounds that it canÂ’t be much worse.
But I wouldnÂ’t breathe easy just yet. At the end of 2009, we also thought weÂ’d seen the worst, between the Stupak Amendment to the Affordable Health Care Act that eventually will end private insurance coverage of abortion and the murder of Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider who had survived decades of harassment at the hands of anti-choice extremists. Little did we know that 2011 was around the corner. With that in mind, here are some predictions for where the anti-choice movement will try to go in 2012: