What's Next In The Fight Over Abortion Access In The U.S.

Diane Rehm: On My Mind

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🗓️ 9 February 2023

⏱️ 35 minutes

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Summary

Less than nine months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, the anti-abortion movement may be on the brink of another major victory.

A judge in Texas is set to rule on a case that could ban abortion pills nationwide. These so-called medication abortions account for more than half of all abortions in the U.S.

“We are looking at something that could have sweeping implications for access not only in Republican led states,” says Caroline Kitchener, national reporter for the Washington Post, “but also in California, New York, Washington D.C.”

Caroline Kitchener joined Diane on this week’s episode to talk about how the abortion fight has evolved post-Roe and what a ban on pills would mean for pregnant women and providers across the country.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, it's Diane. Join me for my next book club meeting on Wednesday, February 22nd at 1 p.m. Eastern.
0:11.2	I'll host a discussion of Kindred by Octavia Butler, a time travel story that explores the
0:19.8	savvetry and legacy of slavery. Find out more and register at diandream.org slash book club.
0:34.8	Hi, it's Diane. On my mind, the next phase in the abortion fight.
0:40.7	Night months after Roe was overturned, the battle's over access continued. We are looking at
0:50.6	something that could have sweeping implications for abortion access, not just in Republican
0:56.9	led states, but also in California, New York, Washington, D.C. Parallelon Kitchener is an
1:04.1	national reporter at the Washington Post. She covers the issue of abortion in the court, in
1:12.0	state houses across the country, and in the homes of women affected by America's changing
1:19.6	reproductive health laws. As access to the clinical procedure has been restricted, she says more
1:29.0	women had turned to abortion pills. I caught up with her in Texas where she's watching a case
1:37.2	that could change all that.
1:46.8	Caroline, the last time we talked about abortion on this podcast was back in July, a month after
1:56.8	Roe v. Wade was overturned. Tell me about the legal landscape today. Why are we? A lot has changed since
2:06.5	July. In most importantly, we are now about a month into the 2023 legislative sessions across
2:17.2	this country, which means that for the first time, many lawmakers are having the first opportunity
2:23.2	to do more anti-abortion restrictions since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Right off the bat, in July,
2:32.7	you saw about a dozen states move right away instantly to ban most abortions or ban abortion
2:41.0	entirely. But now, other states that didn't have those trigger laws already waiting in the wings,
2:47.8	they are also moving to do something more. It's tricky for a lot of these Republican lawmakers
2:53.8	because the other thing that has happened since July are the midterm elections where you really
3:00.0	saw how much this issue means to American voters. You really saw them turn out for abortion, right?
	...

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