New York Review of Books

In the second part of our symposium about the future of abortion in America, David Cole, Meaghan Winter, Sue Halpern, Sherrilyn Ifill, Catherine Coleman Flowers, Elizabeth Reese, and Melissa Gira Grant consider the ramifications of the Supreme Court’s draft decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

David Cole
A Heedless Majority

In voting to overturn Roe, the Trump-appointed justices on the Supreme Court have proven themselves to be truly radical.

Meaghan Winter
Weak Protagonists

While purporting to be the party of reproductive rights, Democrats have consistently failed to take a strong stance on abortion. Can they still stand up to minority rule?

Sue Halpern
Before the Fall

As evangelicals came into the GOP tent, Republican voters and politicians traded women’s bodies for political power.

Sherilyn Ifill
Stealing the Crown Jewels

Justice Alito purports to place the future of abortion in the hands of women voters—despite abetting the disenfranchisement of Black and Latina women.

Melissa Gira Grant
Policing Womanhood

For groups like Alliance Defending Freedom, the erosion of abortion rights and trans rights are complementary pathways to building a Christian nation.

Catherine Coleman Flowers
Our Lives in Their Hands

If state governments truly cared about the lives of poor women or our children, they wouldn’t poison our water and pollute our air. They can’t be trusted with our bodies.

Elizabeth Reese
Unsteady Ground

Native people have known for a long time that in this country, rights—whether to remain, to pray, to vote, or even to live—are impermanent and fickle things, subject to revision by those in power.