Politics

Radio Atlantic: The Abortion Debate’s New Urgency

Could the abortion bans passing around the country topple Roe v. Wade?

By Kevin Townsend
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Recent weeks have seen strict anti-abortion bills pass in states across the country. In Alabama, abortion is now banned under state law, without any exceptions for rape or incest. Georgia, Ohio, and Kentucky have all passed so-called heartbeat bills, making abortion illegal after six to eight weeks into a pregnancy.

Yesterday, Louisiana’s legislature passed its own heartbeat bill, without any exceptions for rape or incest. In Missouri, abortion has been outlawed after eight weeks, and tomorrow it may become the first state without any access to abortion.

These bills have been challenged in court as conflicting with Roe v. Wade, but of course, that conflict is the point. Will a conservative Supreme Court use one of these state laws to overturn Roe? And will this increased attention to abortion change how Americans vote in 2020?

Listen for:

  • How anti-abortion supporters have used rhetoric about genocide in an attempt to appeal to progressive values in the abortion debate

  • Why Planned Parenthood v. Casey—another Supreme Court precedent often overlooked when discussing Roe—is crucial to the legal battles over state abortion bans

  • How voters (and candidates) approach the issue going into 2020

Voices: