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Roe v. Wade

Tuesday

Telehealth Abortions Are Changing The Culture Of Medicine
Shane Tolentino for NPR

Short Wave

Telehealth Abortions Are Changing The Culture Of Medicine

Recent rule changes have increased access to abortion pills through the mail, using telehealth services. As many U.S. states gear up to restrict abortion access in anticipation of the Supreme Court possibly overturning Roe v. Wade, the medical professionals behind these services are preparing for an even bigger surge in demand. Groups that provide abortion pills are also preparing to face significant new obstacles, as anti-abortion states push back against expanded online access. Both patients and clinicians are testing the boundaries of this service that is fully legal in many states — but operates in a legal gray area in others.

Telehealth Abortions Are Changing The Culture Of Medicine

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Tuesday

Why Abortion Access Is Important For A Healthy Community

Abortion rights demonstrators gather near the Washington Monument during a nationwide rally in support of abortion rights in Washington, D.C., US, on May 14, 2022. Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption

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Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Short Wave

Why Abortion Access Is Important For A Healthy Community

Abortion access has been leading political news in recent weeks. But what happens when we look at abortion as a health care tool that betters public health? Today, Emily talks to Liza Fuentes, a Senior Research Scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that focuses on sexual and reproductive health. Fuentes says abortion access is an important part of health care for a community and losing access can exacerbate income and health inequalities.

Why Abortion Access Is Important For A Healthy Community

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Thursday

Before Roe: The Physicians' Crusade

A depiction of the first ovariotomy, which was performed in 1809. Library of Congress hide caption

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Library of Congress

Throughline

Before Roe: The Physicians' Crusade

Abortion wasn't always controversial. In fact, in colonial America it would have been considered a fairly common practice: a private decision made by women, and aided mostly by midwives. But in the mid-1800s, a small group of physicians set out to change that. Obstetrics was a new field, and they wanted it to be their domain—meaning, the domain of men and medicine. Led by a zealous young doctor named Horatio Storer, they launched a campaign to make abortion illegal in every state, spreading a potent cloud of moral righteousness and racial panic that one historian later called "the physicians' crusade." And so began the century of criminalization.

Before Roe: The Physicians' Crusade

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Friday

Who Would Be Most Affected By Roe Reversal
Alex Brandon/AP

Short Wave

Who Would Be Most Affected By Roe Reversal

If the U.S. Supreme Court rules in line with the draft decision leaked in early May, the decision to reverse Roe v. Wade affect a much broader group than people who get pregnant. But research shows abortion restrictions have a disproportionate impact on young women, poor women and especially those in communities of color.

Who Would Be Most Affected By Roe Reversal

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Wednesday

What would overturning Roe mean for birth control?

Copper IUDs are a highly effective method of contraception. Some abortion rights opponents express moral objections to IUDs and other birth control methods. Science Photo Library/Getty Images/Science Photo Libra hide caption

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Science Photo Library/Getty Images/Science Photo Libra

Reproductive rights in America

What would overturning Roe mean for birth control?

Overturning Roe v. Wade could threaten birth control and other care, experts say.

What would overturning Roe mean for birth control?

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The Pentagon Papers leaker explains why the Supreme Court draft leak is a good thing

Daniel Ellsberg, pictured in 2010, told NPR that anyone who chooses to take on the burden of leaking government documents in the public interest "is doing this republic a very great service and helping it to remain a republic." Leon Neal/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Leon Neal/AFP via Getty Images

Law

The Pentagon Papers leaker explains why the Supreme Court draft leak is a good thing

The man who leaked the Pentagon Papers told NPR it's obvious why the Supreme Court wants to keep their process secret: "No organization really wants to show how the sausage is made."

Monday

Abortion providers and advocates experience déjà vu as Roe v. Wade is threatened

An abortion-rights protester holds up a sign during a demonstration in front of the Supreme Court on Saturday in Washington, D.C. Less than a week since the leaked draft of the Court's potential decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, protesters on both sides of the abortion debate continue to demonstrate in front of the building which has been fortified by a temporary fence. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Reproductive rights in America

Abortion providers and advocates experience déjà vu as Roe v. Wade is threatened

Two abortion providers and an abortion support group leader share how they are preparing for a potential overturning of Roe v. Wade after the recent leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion.

Abortion providers and advocates experience déjà vu as Roe v. Wade is threatened

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The Turnaway Study: What The Research Says About Abortion

Signs on a temporary fence around the U.S. Supreme Court building on May 05, 2022 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images hide caption

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Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

Short Wave

The Turnaway Study: What The Research Says About Abortion

A leaked draft opinion in the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization has placed uncertainty on the future of abortion rights in the United States. As written, the opinion would overturn Roe v. Wade protections. We at Short Wave were immediately curious about the data behind abortions: What happens when pregnant people are denied abortions?

The Turnaway Study: What The Research Says About Abortion

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Sunday

The leaked abortion decision blew up overnight. In 1973, Roe had a longer fuse

A counter-protestor holds a large cross during a youth pro-abortion rights rally outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on May 5, following the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption

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Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Reproductive rights in America

The leaked abortion decision blew up overnight. In 1973, Roe had a longer fuse

The reaction to Roe vs. Wade was immense, but not immediately so. It took months and years for the anti-abortion movement to fully form, to organize and gain political power.

Friday

Thursday

What overturning Roe v. Wade could mean for the rest of the world

A person holds a sign during a rally in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday in response to its leaked draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

Reproductive rights in America

What overturning Roe v. Wade could mean for the rest of the world

If the U.S. scraps the constitutional right to abortion, human rights advocates warn that repressive governments across the globe could use it to justify crackdowns on their citizens.

Wednesday

The Supreme Court marshal leading the leak investigation is a career Army lawyer

Col. Gail Curley, the Supreme Court's marshal, has been tasked with investigating how a leaked draft opinion that overturns Roe v. Wade became public. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

Reproductive rights in America

The Supreme Court marshal leading the leak investigation is a career Army lawyer

Col. Gail Curley, the second woman to hold the position, runs the high court's facilities and is its chief security officer, managing some 260 employees. Now she's also leading a high-profile probe.

Activists Lori Gordon (R) and Tammie Miller (L) of Payne, Ohio, take part in the annual "March for Life" event January 22, 2002 in Washington, D.C.

Activists Lori Gordon (R) and Tammie Miller (L) of Payne, Ohio, take part in the annual "March for Life" event January 22, 2002 in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

Reproductive rights in America

The movement against abortion rights is nearing its apex. But it began way before Roe

Despite gaining national traction in the 1970s, the history of the anti-abortion movement in the U.S. goes back more than a century before the landmark Supreme Court decision.

The movement against abortion rights is nearing its apex. But it began way before Roe

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Tuesday

Senate Republicans zero in on the abortion decision leak, not its impact

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the leak of the draft Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade lawless and declined to answer questions about the impact of the draft ruling. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

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Reproductive rights in America

Senate Republicans zero in on the abortion decision leak, not its impact

Top GOP lawmakers emphasized the unprecedented nature of the unauthorized disclosure of the high court's draft ruling on an abortion case instead of the possible impact on women or on the midterms.