Abortion and the Law
Today\u2019s\xa0Postscript\xa0focuses on abortion politics in the United States, with particular attention to the April 7, 2023 federal court decisions in Texas and Washington controlling access to mifepristone and the wider political forces at play. We have a slightly different format for today\u2019s emergency podcast \u2013 spanning four time zones. First, legal historian\xa0Mary Ziegler, Martin Luther King Professor of Law at UC Davis, shares insights on the two cases \u2013 and why the Texas opinion is such a radical departure with regards to standing and legal language. Then Political Scientist\xa0Rebecca Kreitzer, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Adjunct Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, provides a deep dive on the role of the Comstock Act of 1873 and why this 19th century law helps us understand 21st century reproductive politics. The podcast concludes with two scholars of politics and law\xa0Dr. Ren\xe9e Ann Cramer, Professor of Law, Politics, and Society at Drake University and\xa0Dr. Joshua C. Wilson, Professor of Political Science at the University of Denver). They pull back the curtain on the cases to expose the ways in which those who oppose abortion have created parallel organizations to provide the false expertise relied upon in the Texas decision. We also talk about the wider implications of banning approved medications for trans people.\nLinks mentioned in the podcast:\n\nMary Ziegler,\xa0The Texas Abortion-Pill Ruling Signals Pro-Lifers\u2019 Next Push\n\n\n\nNew York Times\xa0graphic\xa0of the 100+ scholarly articles proving mifepristone safe\n\nThe opposing court opinions from the\xa0Texas\xa0and\xa0Washington\xa0courts\n\nDecember 2022\xa0Department of Justice Memo\xa0on Comstock, abortion, mifepristone, and misoprostol\n\n\nRep. Pat Schroeder\u2019s 1996 speech\xa0calling for the part of Comstock regarding abortion to be overturned.\n\nRebecca J. Kreitzer and Candis Watts Smith,\xa0Washington Post, on Alito\u2019s draft and research on women\u2019s political power.\n\ufeffSusan Liebell\xa0is Dirk Warren '50 Professor of Political Science at Saint Joseph\u2019s University in Philadelphia.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law