Amanda Ripley: The Supreme Court will hear arguments next week over mifepristone, also known as the abortion pill.It's the first time they've brought up this topic. dobbsan incident that turned upside down Roe vs. Wade Fast forward to June 2022. Ruth, can you talk a little bit about the stakes of this case? What actually happens here?
Ruth Marcus: Well, what happens and what I think will happen are probably two different things. In terms of what can happen, more than half of abortions are currently performed with mifepristone and a combination of the two drugs, and in fact they are so-called medication abortions, so the risks are very high. Therefore, the medical procedure became a “taking a series of pills” procedure. You can do it in the privacy of your own home.
The judge does not intend to remove the drug from the market. But it is unlikely that the drug's availability will even return to 2016 levels.
Alexandra Petri: To be honest, it's kind of scary. I'm afraid. I was born in a time when it was only natural to be a person who was completely protected by the law and could do anything anyone else could do. And now, oh, you're actually going to have your rights arbitrarily taken away.
Ripley: It's like falling into a very deep well and having to cry out for help in an unexpected way. is that so?
Petri: Yeah. I can't speak to that from my own personal experience as I didn't fall into a deep well. But I think it's like falling into a deep well.
Ripley: I would also like to talk about this political issue.So far it looks like dobbs This decision further increased support for abortion. So it's a political loser for Republicans, right?
Marcus: You're talking to someone who has made far more grave and joyful mistakes in terms of social impact. dobbs. When I started my career and watched the politics of abortion evolve, it was always clear that abortion was a huge motivator for Republican voters, but not at all for Democratic voters. was.after that dobbs happened.
I didn't expect the beast of angry American women and angry voters in general that so many female voters, both Democrats, Republicans, and independents, would be energized by this. But it turns out: Hello… completely obvious. When someone takes something away from you right away that you've been told your whole adult life, it affects you, it affects your children, it affects your wife, but they… Many are very unhappy about this.
Would the justices, like Brett Kavanaugh, have ruled the way he ruled then? dobbs Just as quickly if he realized it was going to result in a political awakening? That's cold comfort to women in Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, or many other states where abortion is unavailable. But it's a huge comfort to Democrats who are going to do a really good job on this issue in 2022 and make the most of it in 2024, and I think that's a good thing.
Listen to the full conversation here.
