The Supreme Court, Abortion And The Anti-Abortion Movement's Long Game

Published May 26, 2021 at 10:00 AM EDT

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 17: Clouds are seen above The U.S. Supreme Court building on May 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court said that it will hear a Mississippi abortion case that challenges Roe v. Wade. They will hear the case in October, with a decision likely to come in June of 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Mississippi abortion case that could spell the end of Roe v. Wade. Meanwhile, abortion restrictions are being signed into laws at an unprecedented rate. We look at the battle over abortion in 2021.

Guests

Mary Ziegler, legal historian and professor of law at the Florida State University College of Law. Author of “Abortion in America: A Legal History, Roe v. Wade to the Present” and “After Roe: The Lost History of the Abortion Debate.” (@maryrziegler)

Joan Biskupic, CNN legal analyst and Supreme Court biographer. Author of

many books, including “The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts.” (@JoanBiskupic)

Also Featured

Elizabeth Nash, principal policy associate for state issues at the Guttmacher Institute. (@ElizNash)

Joe Pojman, executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life. (@joepojman)

From The Reading List

CNN: “How Trump and McConnell set the final pieces for the Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade” — “Conservatives have been waiting decades for this moment: a transformed Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an abortion case that directly challenges women’s reproductive rights tracing to the 1973 Roe v. Wade milestone.”

Wall Street Journal: “The Mississippi Abortion Case at the Supreme Court: What You Should Know” — “The question of abortion rights is making a return to the Supreme Court, with justices on Monday agreeing to hear a challenge to a Mississippi law that bans abortions after about 15 weeks of pregnancy.”

Ms. Magazine: “Unprecedented Surge in Anti-Abortion Laws Proposed and Passed Across the U.S.” — “In the first four months of 2021, anti-abortion lawmakers introduced 536 abortion restrictions in 46 states, including 146 abortion bans, according to a report released by the Guttmacher Institute on Friday. They enacted 61 restrictions in 13 states, including eight bans that would go into effect if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Governors signed 28 restrictions into law in eight states just last week.”

The Hill: “Democrats: Roe v. Wade blow would fuel expanding Supreme Court” — “Democratic senators say if the Supreme Court strikes a blow against Roe v. Wade by upholding a Mississippi abortion law, it will fuel an effort to add justices to the court or otherwise reform it.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.