To hate the vulnerable—and wish their destruction—has become so normalized in our society as to go without notice.
Roe v. Wade
Ethics and Public Policy Center’s encouraging report on two years after Dobbs (and some discouraging thoughts too)
Patrick Brown’s report on states and family-friendly policies two years after Dobbs is a must-read.
Trump takes a pro-choice position on abortion. Tells everyone to “follow their heart.” Some evangelical leaders respond, but most show no outrage.
This morning Donald Trump announced that abortion was a decision best left up to the people in the states. Watch: Two quick thoughts: The Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America came out quickly this morning with this: “We are deeply disappointed […]
Lindsey Graham keeps pushing his 15-week abortion ban
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham came to pay his respects to the Christian Right at the rally known as “Road to Majority.” Abortion was the focus of his speech. Watch: Graham attacks a new bill introduced by House Democrats called […]
Current writers join a Politico forum on post-Roe America
Last year Politico asked twenty thinkers to respond to the end of Roe v. Wade. Today Politico asked the same twenty people to reflect on the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade. Current editors and […]
The Unexpected Complications of the Abortion Debate
Review: Roe: The History of a National Obsession by Mary Ziegler. Yale University Press, 2023. 248 pp., $27.00 The first time I heard Mary Ziegler present her scholarship on abortion was more than a decade ago, before she had published […]
A museum exhibit on Roe v. Wade
It’s at Harvard Schlesinger Library. Here is Jennifer Schuessler at The New York Times: In the corner of a ground-floor gallery at Harvard’s Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America sits a small plexiglass case, holding two cowboy […]
Old state anti-abortion laws are becoming relevant again
Current contributing editor Daniel K. Williams explains in a recent piece at The Atlantic: Abortion opponents seem not to have expected some of the more draconian consequences of the Dobbs decision—that anti-abortion laws would prevent pregnant women who were not seeking abortions […]
Send it back to the states: Kansas rejects an amendment to restrict abortion rights
Will the overturning of Roe v. Wade end abortion in America? No. Decisions concerning abortion rights will now be settled in the individual states. Yesterday Kansas decided to support abortion rights. Here is The Washington Post: In a major victory […]
Sam Alito get on his high horse in Rome
I wish Sam Alito would just keep his mouth shut and do his job. Every time he speaks publicly he proves that the Supreme Court is just another political institution. This, it seems, was what John Roberts was worried about […]
Michael Kazin compares the backlash to the overturning of Roe with the backlash to prohibition.
The Georgetown University historian of the American Left compares the backlash to Dobbs vs. Jackson with the backlash against prohibition in the 1920s. Here is a taste of his piece at The New York Times: Once the dry movement got […]
Abortion, the Supreme Court, and the uses of history
Below is a taste of Carlos Lozado’s piece at The Washington Post. It is one of the better things I have read on Dobbs. …One of the sharpest divides in the Supreme Court’s abortion rulings is over history — what […]
Does the Christian Right still need Trump?
Bonnie Kristian, a columnist at Christianity Today and a fellow at Defense Priorities, does not think so. Here is a taste of her piece today at The New York Times: For many backers of former President Donald Trump, Friday’s Supreme […]
We lifted the Current paywall for this week’s forum “The End of Roe”
Good morning. I hope you will spend some time this week checking out Current‘s four day series on the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Today, Monday, we have Felicia Song, Randall Balmer, David Tucker, Una Cadegan, and John Haas. And […]
The National Association of Evangelicals responds to the overturning of Roe
Here is the press release: The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) welcomes today’s Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson that overturns federal abortion rights based on Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The ruling represents the most significant change in abortion jurisprudence […]
Current writers will address the end of Roe
Next week at Current we will be running a multi-day forum on the overturning of Roe v. Wade. We have lined-up an impressive array of writers who will offer short commentaries on the decision from multiple perspectives. I am confident […]
What overturning Roe v. Wade will NOT mean for the future of abortion in the United States
Readers of Current know the work of Daniel K. Williams. He teaches American history at the University of West Georgia and is the author of several books on evangelicals and politics, including Defenders of the Unborn: The Pro-Life Movement before […]
On abortion, the Trump court evangelicals need the Supreme Court. On gun violence, all they have are “thoughts and prayers.”
If you read my Current piece on Thursday or Dan Williams’s piece today and want another example of the inherent contradiction in the Christian pro-life movement, just read the recent e-mail Trump court evangelical Paula White-Cain’s “National Faith Advisory Board‘ […]
The consequences of overturning Roe v. Wade
Michael Walther, a pro-life Catholic, can live with the consequences. But at least he is aware of them. Here is a taste of his piece at The New York Times: American society as we know it today came into being […]
Pennsylvania senator Bob Casey will vote to codify Roe v. Wade into law
Here is Amy Gang and Seung Min Kim at The Washington Post: Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. said Tuesday that he would support legislation that would codify Roe v. Wade into law, a dramatic shift for one of the few remaining Democrats […]