For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So said Sir Issac Newton, the founding father of physics. It plays out in politics in much the same way.
The ultra-conservative 1950s gave way to the non-conformist 1960s. The swinging 1970s gave way to the more puritanical 1980s. The right-wing, anti-government politics of the 1990s gave way to the return of Big Government with a vengeance in the 21st Century, first in a military way with Bush, and then in a more progressive way with Obama.
And so it is with abortion. Since the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, the anti-sex* opponents of abortion have dedicated their lives to chipping away at a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy. And they have succeeded to a degree that should frighten anyone who values individual freedom.
There have been concerns raised by older feminists that Gen X and millennial women may, in the face of this kind of success, take freedom of choice for granted. I understand and respect that concern, but, based on reality, I'm not entirely sure that it should exist. If anything, as this Slate article shows, it may be having the opposite effect, galvanizing an entire generation of women to stand up for their rights.
Looks like Newtonian politics, thankfully, is alive and well.
*As a matter of principle, I refer to the so-called "pro-life" movement as an anti-sex movement, for reasons I detail here.
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