The Last Abortion Clinic in Mississippi; and a Look at White Empathy

The New Yorker Radio Hour

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

Politics, Arts, News, Wnyc, Books, David, Storytelling, Society & Culture, Yorker, New, Remnick

4.2 • 6.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 May 2022

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Last week, a draft opinion was leaked which suggests that a majority of Supreme Court Justices are ready to overturn the precedents of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey—the decisions that have guaranteed a right to abortion at the federal level. The case in question is Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in which Mississippi officials seek to close the state’s last remaining abortion clinic under a law that bans performing an abortion after the fifteenth week of pregnancy—a point well before the time of fetal viability. In November, Rachel Monroe visited the Jackson abortion clinic, speaking to its director, Shannon Brewer; a physician who asked to remain anonymous, describing the risks to abortion providers; and a patient, who had driven all night from Texas, where she was not able to obtain an abortion. “Somebody else is telling me what I should do with my body, and it’s not right,” she said. “It’s my body. It’s my decision. It’s my choice. It’s my life. It’s my soul, if it’s going to Hell.” Produced with assistance from Ezekiel Bandy and Kim Green. This segment originally aired November 19, 2021. Plus, the staff writer Alexis Okeowo talks with the producer Ngofeen Mputubwele about why the Ukrainian refugee crisis seems both familiar and startlingly different from conflicts in other parts of the world.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
0:08.9	This is The New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. Not so long ago, we produced an episode called
0:14.8	If Roe v. Wade goes, what next? And now, according to the draft Supreme Court opinion that was leaked last week,
0:22.7	a majority of the justices want to end federally protected abortion rights altogether.
0:28.7	The specific case being argued is known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization,
0:34.6	and it will decide whether Mississippi officials can shut down the state's
0:39.3	only remaining abortion provider.
0:41.3	We are standing here on a beautiful Friday outside the Jackson Women's Health Organization.
0:52.3	It's funny to think that that all is going to center on this
0:57.8	one building, which is like a pretty unremarkable building, except for the fact that it is quite pink.
1:05.3	It is like a beautiful pale pink. I believe they call it the pink house and
1:22.6	Yeah, let's go in. As the case came before the Supreme Court last fall our reporter Rachel Monroe visited Jackson women's health and she met the director Shannon Brewer I love you in your office. You're okay. You're okay. Hey, how you're going, sweetie?
1:28.3	Shannon Brewer, she's the clinic director.
1:32.3	So we've been seeing a lot of patients this week.
1:35.3	The Louisiana clinics are full or, and then of course with Texas, you got the SB 8 going on.
1:41.3	So literally the same week it came into effect. The very first day,
1:46.6	our phones rang from 8 o'clock until we left that day. And it was like Texas people. And they
1:53.6	were like on panic mode. They were crying. They were upset. They were going through so much.
1:59.9	Normally we see patients three days a week. we're now seeing patients five and some weeks, six days.
2:05.6	Oh my gosh.
2:06.6	Yeah, some weeks, yeah.
2:08.6	I have been here, it should be 21 years, and I started out part-time as a sterilization technician.
	...

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