A coalition of Christian lawyers, activists, and politicians methodically and secretly took down Roe, and in the process, outsmarted Democrats who believed they had permanently won on the issue of abortion. And the end of Roe v Wade is just the beginning of an effort to roll back the sexual revolution. Lisa Lerer and Elizabeth Dias join guest host A.B. Stoddard today.
AB... I hate to go negative here, but took some time to cool down and still felt this needed to be said.
I really don't like the conspiratorial intonations that Elizabeth and Lisa trafficked in. Libs may have been surprised by Dodd, but as someone who grew up on the right, it was incredibly easy to see what was happening over the last 20-30 years. It was NOT a conspiracy, it was the left hearing what it wanted to hear, imagining that the word "precedent" had some sort of magic power that it simply did not.
Also, Cecile Richards was no hero; she was the human embodiment of the shortsighted abortion-rights leadership cult that mistook a consensus for "safe, legal, and rare" as a mandate to expand pro-choice rhetoric in the most extreme ways possible. The way they hounded out pro-life Dems from the party is one of the single biggest drivers of that party's current inability to remain competitive in rural areas. These people took a second-and-short on their own 20 and threw a Hail Mary into a Pick 6 while knifing their own slot receiver's Achilles, and act like it was the most noble thing they could have done.
So... without being too mean about it, IMO they deserve every bit of anguish they feel about the millions of women they've screwed over with their misleadership of their own movement.
That case should never have gotten past the district court level. The "doctors" had no standing to bring the case. It was easy to see but that district court judge is the one who is happy to make any ruling that yields the result his anti abortion ideology wants and to try to extend it over the entire country and the 11th Circuit allows it. Easy decision for the Supreme Court.
The description of the mid-70's world is why I've joked that even the most MAGA non-college educated tradwife would turn into Gloria Steinem within two weeks of being dropped into 1974 America.
Blinded by their self righteousness. They were busy disciplining the naughty young girls who shouldn't have been having sex and the loose women who just seek to evade morality and responsibility. It never occurred to them that the "abortion" they hate is the same surgical procedure that saves women's lives in a lot of situations. I recall seeing video clip in which a women testified in a state legislature that those life saving procedures were not "abortions."
We “boomer moms” (who are now grandmothers) remain enraged with the Sanders and Stein voters who cleared the way for Trump’s SCOTUS appointees. Selfish, spoiled children. Do not believe the Right didn’t have a plan for decades and the stars finally aligned for them.
I have a granddaughter, two daughters, and two soon-to-be daughters-in-law. I marched, I was a clinic escort, and I donated to make Roe happen and survive, and so all of these young women could make the same choices I did, to have four children and not to have any before I was ready to have those four.
In Ohio, women my age turned out in droves to enshrine Roe into our constitution last year. Even eighteen Trump counties voted yes on Article 1 and for now our rights are safe. I’m not naive enough to believe that our GOP supermajority in the General Assembly isn’t scheming with outside money to take those rights away.
If SCOTUS outlaws mifepristone, which is the current goal, everything will fall apart and all hell will break loose. Do I think it will sweep Dems including Biden into office? I do. Do I think Roe will be protected by these new guys? I do not, unless enough of the Senate Rs are smart enough to recognize how weakly they squeaked into their offices and decide they’d better work with the Ds.
Boomer who survived both a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy back when Roe enabled appropriate care for such situations without question. Since Roe made it possible for me to live to see my two kids grow to adulthood, I will crawl over broken glass to vote for the Missouri Right to Reproductive Freedom ballot initiative in November on behalf of those who follow. I'm sure our state elected officials (whose lack of understanding about any of these issues is astonishing) will continue their efforts to make child-bearing mandatory, so I know a constitutional amendment won't end the fight. But as long as I have a pulse I'm in it.
To survive, the Republican party must overcome both MAGA and their abortion abolition faction. It is this radical faction that wants women to die from ectopic pregnancies or incomplete miscarriages rather than receive care. If they do get past those 2 things, the leftover pro-lifers that believe some exceptions are OK will finish them off, because THE GOVERNMENT IS UNQUALIFIED to assess mental & physical health risks of pregnancy and delivery. Their only hope might be a campaign to eliminate abortions for bad reasons and allow all abortions for good reasons, relying on doctors to assess whether there is a reason. But they will never go for that.
Trump may escape abortion, but all those fuckers in Congress will not. The entire Republican party needs to stay out of bedrooms & uteruses and mind their own business.
AB... I hate to go negative here, but took some time to cool down and still felt this needed to be said.
I really don't like the conspiratorial intonations that Elizabeth and Lisa trafficked in. Libs may have been surprised by Dodd, but as someone who grew up on the right, it was incredibly easy to see what was happening over the last 20-30 years. It was NOT a conspiracy, it was the left hearing what it wanted to hear, imagining that the word "precedent" had some sort of magic power that it simply did not.
Also, Cecile Richards was no hero; she was the human embodiment of the shortsighted abortion-rights leadership cult that mistook a consensus for "safe, legal, and rare" as a mandate to expand pro-choice rhetoric in the most extreme ways possible. The way they hounded out pro-life Dems from the party is one of the single biggest drivers of that party's current inability to remain competitive in rural areas. These people took a second-and-short on their own 20 and threw a Hail Mary into a Pick 6 while knifing their own slot receiver's Achilles, and act like it was the most noble thing they could have done.
So... without being too mean about it, IMO they deserve every bit of anguish they feel about the millions of women they've screwed over with their misleadership of their own movement.
Fantastic pod, AB. Thank you for bringing these women and their work to our attention.
Great Pod, and I am glad you moderated this one AB..thanks...I will have to get the book
Great pod A.B. And those juicy tidbits at the end do indeed make me want to read the book.
Well, SCOTUS managed to avoid the mifepristone argument completely because the case failed on standing.
Next time somebody will bring a better one.
That case should never have gotten past the district court level. The "doctors" had no standing to bring the case. It was easy to see but that district court judge is the one who is happy to make any ruling that yields the result his anti abortion ideology wants and to try to extend it over the entire country and the 11th Circuit allows it. Easy decision for the Supreme Court.
Great episode. Excellent guests. Thanks AB
Fabulous episode! Well done AB!
Excellent conversation, AB. I love it when a host is as familiar with the material as you are. Buying the book now.
Great conversation. I'm pro-life and I found it valuable, informative, and well worth listening to.
The description of the mid-70's world is why I've joked that even the most MAGA non-college educated tradwife would turn into Gloria Steinem within two weeks of being dropped into 1974 America.
Channeling Joni Mitchell "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone..."
She’s a fucking goddess!
Gloria who? Seriously, only those of us in the Medicare generation remember Gloria Steinem.
And she is not dead yet! Was just on a pod with Julia Louis Dreyfus that was fantastic!
That’s wrong. So wrong.
Such a valuable topic. Thank you AB and guests. Would enjoy hearing you do more interviews.
Great show! I was struck by the fact that the anti-abortion movement was not prepared for the public backlash. Huh?
What did they think would happen?
Blinded by their self righteousness. They were busy disciplining the naughty young girls who shouldn't have been having sex and the loose women who just seek to evade morality and responsibility. It never occurred to them that the "abortion" they hate is the same surgical procedure that saves women's lives in a lot of situations. I recall seeing video clip in which a women testified in a state legislature that those life saving procedures were not "abortions."
They never thought that far ahead. It's easy to do when you think God is on your side.
Awesome interview AB. I’ll have to say the out music was 🔥
We “boomer moms” (who are now grandmothers) remain enraged with the Sanders and Stein voters who cleared the way for Trump’s SCOTUS appointees. Selfish, spoiled children. Do not believe the Right didn’t have a plan for decades and the stars finally aligned for them.
I have a granddaughter, two daughters, and two soon-to-be daughters-in-law. I marched, I was a clinic escort, and I donated to make Roe happen and survive, and so all of these young women could make the same choices I did, to have four children and not to have any before I was ready to have those four.
In Ohio, women my age turned out in droves to enshrine Roe into our constitution last year. Even eighteen Trump counties voted yes on Article 1 and for now our rights are safe. I’m not naive enough to believe that our GOP supermajority in the General Assembly isn’t scheming with outside money to take those rights away.
If SCOTUS outlaws mifepristone, which is the current goal, everything will fall apart and all hell will break loose. Do I think it will sweep Dems including Biden into office? I do. Do I think Roe will be protected by these new guys? I do not, unless enough of the Senate Rs are smart enough to recognize how weakly they squeaked into their offices and decide they’d better work with the Ds.
Boomer who survived both a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy back when Roe enabled appropriate care for such situations without question. Since Roe made it possible for me to live to see my two kids grow to adulthood, I will crawl over broken glass to vote for the Missouri Right to Reproductive Freedom ballot initiative in November on behalf of those who follow. I'm sure our state elected officials (whose lack of understanding about any of these issues is astonishing) will continue their efforts to make child-bearing mandatory, so I know a constitutional amendment won't end the fight. But as long as I have a pulse I'm in it.
Truth! This Ohio senior is still pissed about Dobbs. Young women should have the same choices that I had, and I am furious that they don’t.
To survive, the Republican party must overcome both MAGA and their abortion abolition faction. It is this radical faction that wants women to die from ectopic pregnancies or incomplete miscarriages rather than receive care. If they do get past those 2 things, the leftover pro-lifers that believe some exceptions are OK will finish them off, because THE GOVERNMENT IS UNQUALIFIED to assess mental & physical health risks of pregnancy and delivery. Their only hope might be a campaign to eliminate abortions for bad reasons and allow all abortions for good reasons, relying on doctors to assess whether there is a reason. But they will never go for that.
Trump may escape abortion, but all those fuckers in Congress will not. The entire Republican party needs to stay out of bedrooms & uteruses and mind their own business.
Closeout song is an old favorite of mine, good choice for the episode.
Loved it!