The Fall of Roe: The Rise of a New America

Elizabeth Dias

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER

"Searing and intimate... with masterly, white-hot reporting." - The New York Times

"The most important book in the lead up to this election." - Nicolle Wallace, MSNBC

"As Dias and Lerer write, the fight against legal abortion is tied inextricably to the fight for America's soul." - New York Magazine

"A tour de force. However you read books, hardcover, ebook, audio... Just read it." - Alex Wagner on Alex Wagner Tonight

From two top New York Times journalists, the breathtaking untold story of the plan to overturn Roe v. Wade and the consequences for women, abortion, and the future of America

In June 2022, Americans watched in shock as the Supreme Court reversed one of the nation's landmark rulings. For nearly a half century, Roe was synonymous with women's rights and freedoms. Then, suddenly, it was gone.

In their groundbreaking book The Fall of Roe, Elizabeth Dias and Lisa Lerer reveal the explosive inside story of how it happened. Their investigation charts the shocking political and religious campaign to take down abortion rights and remake American families, womanhood, and the nation itself. In doing so, Dias and Lerer go beyond the traditional political narrative into the most personal reaches of American life.

Reeling from Barack Obama's 2012 landslide presidential victory - and motivated by a spiritual mission - a small but determined network of elite conservative Christian lawyers and powerbrokers worked quietly and methodically to keep their true cause alive: ending abortion rights. Thinking in generational terms, they devised a strategic, top-down takeover at every level of political and legal life, from little-known anti-abortion lobbyists in far flung statehouses to the arbiters of the constitution at the highest court in the land. Broad swaths of liberal America did not register the severity of the threat until it was far too late. At a moment when women had more power than ever before, the feminist movement suffered one of the greatest political defeats in American history.

With stunning scope, journalistic rigor, and unprecedented access to the highest echelons of conservative and liberal power, Dias and Lerer chronicle the end of the Roe era. Their deeply human reporting stretches from inside abortion clinics to the halls of the White House, exposing powerful behind-the-scenes actors and recasting the actions of those already in the spotlight. The result is a sweeping and intimate narrative of secrets, power, jaw-dropping revelations, and a beacon to guide us forward.

Book Details

Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publish Date: Jun 3rd, 2025
Pages: 352
Language: English
Edition: undefined - undefined
Dimensions: 8.25in - 5.38in - 1.00in - 1.00lb
EAN: 9781250881427
Categories: • Political Process - Political Advocacy• Abortion & Birth Control• United States - 21st Century

About the Author

Dias, Elizabeth: - Elizabeth Dias, national religion correspondent for The New York Times, has covered American religion and politics for more than a decade, with a focus on the surging power of conservative Christianity that drives the Trump movement. She is a Livingston Award finalist, and a graduate of Wheaton College and Princeton Theological Seminary.

Lerer, Lisa: - Lisa Lerer, national political correspondent for The New York Times, has covered American politics, power, and elections for nearly two decades. She has covered five presidential campaigns, the White House and Congress. She was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Columbia University Journalism School.

Praise for this book

"Searing and intimate... with masterly, white-hot reporting." - Mattie Kahn, The New York Times

"The most important book in the lead up to this election." - Nicolle Wallace, MSNBC

"An insightful new book." - Maureen Dowd, The New York Times

"Absolutely riveting... A page-turner and essential reading." - A.B. Stoddard, The Bulwark

"A rich narrative." - Rolling Stone

"A rollicking read, full of complicated but passionate advocates on both sides. It's a tale of religion, power, politics and ultimately of the position of women in American society; an account of how a driven minority can triumph over a complacent majority. It's riveting." - The Telegraph, five star review

"A deeply personal and narrative look at the decades-long campaign to restrict reproductive access in the U.S. [The Fall of Roe] takes us from inside secret meetings with Christian activists to abortion clinics to the White House." - Katie Couric Media

"A tour de force. [The Fall of Roe] is a blueprint, so comprehensive in how it speaks to the right and the left. [Dias and Lerer] talk to the right about how they won the battle, or the war. It's essential reading. However you read books, hardcover, ebook, audio... Just read it." - Alex Wagner on Alex Wagner Tonight

"A deeply personal and narrative look at the intersection of religion and power. A fantastic story of the last decade that opened my eyes to how abortion rights fell apart in this country." - Asma Khalid, NPR

"The Fall of Roe is more than an account of history. It's a warning about the future." - Susan Rinkunas, HuffPost

"The Fall of Roe unfolds like a horror story. Danger lurked outside the cabin door, but the threat was never fully perceived by those who lived within... Dias and Lerer provide a great public service.... As [they] write, the fight against legal abortion is tied inextricably to the fight for America's soul." - Sarah Jones, New York Magazine

"Compelling.... brilliantly and meticulously reported." - Al Hunt, Politics War Room

"The book's greatest strength is the authors' comprehensive and incisive approach to explaining that 'Roe did not just fall once, on June 24, 2022. Roe collapsed over a transformational decade.' Devoid of rhetoric, this evenhanded work exemplifies outstanding reportage." - Kirkus, starred review

"Great reporting by Elizabeth Dias and Lisa Lerer on how conservatives overturned Roe while everyone else slept." - Jane Mayer, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Money

"Want to read a great story with a terrible ending? Lisa Lerer and Elizabeth Dias have your back on how no one had ours." - Taffy Brodesser-Akner, New York Times bestselling author of Fleishman is in Trouble

"Brilliant. A must read that will both chill and galvanize readers." - Michelle Bowdler, author of National Book Award longlist Is Rape a Crime?

"The subtitle of this new book by New York Times reporters Dias (religion) and Lerer (politics) underscores how the conservative religious faction's far-reaching and secretive strategy of putting anti-abortion activists in the spotlight changed rights for Americans in June 2022. As the authors warn, if Democrats don't change their own strategy, we might see an entirely different nation emerge because of a single issue." - Los Angeles Times, "10 Books to Add to Your Reading List in June"

"Amid it all, reporters Elizabeth Dias and Lisa Lerer were taking notes... The result is The Fall of Roe... A nonpartisan narrative chronicling the past decade's political chess game." - Bustle

"A definitive historical account of how Roe v. Wade came to be overturned. [Dias and Lerer] gained access to key players in the drama including former Planned Parenthood head Cecile Richards, longtime Federalist Society president Leonard Leo and Marjorie Dannenfelser, the head of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America." - Kirsten Powers, New York Times bestselling author of The Silencing

"Amazing." - Slate, Political Gabfest

"Deeply reported, very needed." - Elizabeth Holmes, New York Times bestselling author of HRH

"A definitive historical account of how Roe v. Wade came to be overturned. [Dias and Lerer] gained access to key players in the drama including former Planned Parenthood head Cecile Richards, longtime Federalist Society president Leonard Leo and Marjorie Dannenfelser, the head of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America." - Kirsten Powers, New York Times bestselling author of The Silencing

"An essential read." - Elizabeth L. Silver, author of The Majority

"This book is as if the blurry portrait of abortion and womanhood that we've seen over the last several decades has finally come into view and can be captured in screaming color." - Elysse Wagner