Abortion After Roe

Surveying America’s Post-Dobbs Landscape

For nearly 50 years, Roe v. Wade was the single most important factor influencing abortion legislation in the U.S. Then, in June 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe with Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Despite widespread misinformation, which began circulating before Dobbs (and still has not let up), the ruling did nothing to outlaw or curtail abortion. Rather, it ended its status as a court-constructed “right” and returned to the individual states the legislative authority to make their own decisions about how to regulate it. As a result, talking about abortion law has become more complicated, as each state has its own evolving regulations.

The repeal of...