Understanding reproductive care and civil rights in post-Roe America

WAMU 88.5 | By Chris Remington

Published June 27, 2022 at 7:34 AM EDT

Pro-life activists counter-demonstrate as pro-choice activists participate in a "flash-mob" demonstration outside of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC.

Protests erupted Friday in the nation’s capital and continued across the country over the weekend as the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade.

The landmark decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ended a 50-year constitutional right to an abortion.

From The New York Times:

“I’m joyful, I feel inspired and I just want to be loving today and show people love ’cause I care about everybody here,” saidElizabeth Harris from Asheville North Carolina. She works for a crisis pregnancy center and was at the Supreme Court.

“There’s no way around this patriarchy, besides being in the streets and nonviolent action,” saysKoyuki (KOH-you-KEE) Chen from Philadelphia.“We know that this can happen because in Latin America, women won this right to abortion in Catholic countries telling their story of what it was like to live in a country where abortion is illegal, and they marched in these streets.”

Many states were ready for this decision. So-called trigger laws are in effect in 13 states across the country, effectively making all abortions illegal in the event of a Supreme Court decision against Roe. Missouri was the first state in the country to outlaw abortion, followed by Louisiana and South Dakota.

Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit on Saturday to block Utah’s abortion ban.

We explore the impact the overturning of Roe vs. Wade is already having on healthcare providers and patients and take a look at what rights could be targeted next.