Abortion In The Aftermath Of Dobbs: What Comes Next? Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome Stephen Hanks, Jodi Liggett, and Frankie Riemer to discuss the latest political ramifications of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v Jackson decision overturning Roe v Wade. In doing so, the court took away a constitutional right that had stood for nearly 50 years.
Following that decision, red states have quickly tried to push a national abortion ban while blue states have passed legislation creating abortion sanctuaries. Our panel tries to envision what happens next.
Riemer predicts ramifications for Republicans in the next election saying, “I think we’re seeing that this issue is not playing as well for the Republicans as they had expected. We had a series of elections recently in which abortion was a key issue and the Democratic candidates won.” Liggett says, “I agree…this is an issue that wins. People want families to be in charge of their own medical decisions. We see that in poll after poll. So, Democrats can lean into this issue and win.”
Hanks adds, “Here’s the thing that occurs to me: You can’t divorce any of this from the issue of voting rights and what gerrymandering has done nationally, especially in the red states.” He explains that although 60 percent of the country is for choice, Republicans can ignore those numbers and pass these draconian laws because they have taken control of state legislatures.