--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Welcome to Today Explained. I'm Sean Rameswaram.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Today, we're talking about abortion, and the growing restrictions on women's reproductive rights under the Trump administration. Joining me is Anna North, a senior reporter at Vox. Anna, thanks for being here.
--:-- Anna North: Thanks for having me, Sean.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, let's start with the basics. There are over 100 clinics in California where women can get an abortion, but in Mississippi, there's just one. The Jackson Women's Health Organization, also known as the Pink House.
--:-- Anna North: That's right. And it's been a target for protesters for many years. But the clinic has also had a lot of support from people who come there as clinic escorts to walk women past the protesters.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's right. And it's not just the clinic itself that's under attack, but also the people who work there. The Mississippi governor, Phil Bryant, has signed some of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortions into law. The bill bans most abortions after 15 weeks.
--:-- Anna North: That's right. And it's a pretty strict bill, with no exceptions for rape or incest, except in cases where the health of the mother or the fetus is threatened.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Abortion rights advocates are calling the law unconstitutional, and the clinic has already sued. A judge has issued a temporary restraining order, so the law is not in effect right now.
--:-- Anna North: That's right. But it's not clear how long that will last. The law could still go into effect in the next few days, or it could get tied up in court for a while.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And if it does get tied up in court, could it make its way all the way to the Supreme Court?
--:-- Anna North: That's a possibility. Some conservative groups are hoping to appeal the law all the way to the Supreme Court, where they could try to get a decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: But how does this Mississippi law violate Roe v. Wade? Roe v. Wade established the precedent that states can't ban abortions before a fetus is viable.
--:-- Anna North: That's right. And viability is typically considered to be around 24 weeks. So, a 15-week ban is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: But this isn't the only challenge to Roe v. Wade that we're seeing on the horizon. Some Ohio legislators have just introduced a bill that would ban abortion completely in the state.
--:-- Anna North: That's right. And it's not just Ohio. We're also seeing a new effort in Louisiana to pass a pre-viability ban that will work its way through the legislature.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Are there other things that states are doing outside of legislation to discourage women from having abortions or to drive abortion clinics out of business?
--:-- Anna North: Well, in the past, states have tried to pass laws that would target the operations of abortion clinics, like requiring them to have admitting privileges at a hospital. But the Supreme Court made it harder for states to pass those kinds of laws in 2016.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's right. The Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt case made it clear that states can't pass laws that would shut down abortion clinics.
--:-- Anna North: That's right. And since then, we've seen a shift towards pre-viability bans, like the one in Mississippi.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what about the Supreme Court? Are they dealing with any abortion cases this term?
--:-- Anna North: Yes, they are. The Supreme Court is hearing a case called NIFLA v. Becerra, which involves crisis pregnancy centers and whether a California law can require them to disclose what they are and what services they do and don't offer.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And how did oral arguments go? Did we get a sense of how it might be decided?
--:-- Anna North: My sense is that the justices are interested in the speech issues here, and whether a state can limit or not limit speech in this way.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what about the president? Where does he stand on this issue?
--:-- Anna North: Well, my speculation has always been that he doesn't care about abortion or reproductive health very much, and he doesn't have a lot of thoughts about it.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: But he has been appointing judges who are anti-abortion, like Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
--:-- Anna North: That's right. And he's also appointed judges to lower federal courts who have conservative reputations and are likely to rule in favor of anti-abortion groups.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what about the impact of these restrictions on women's reproductive rights? Are we seeing any numbers on unintended pregnancies and abortions?
--:-- Anna North: Yes, we are. Unintended pregnancies and abortions are down, but we might see them start to go up if people are unable to access birth control.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And why do you think that is? Why are people so mad about abortion?
--:-- Anna North: Well, I think it's because there's a core group of people who are passionate about restricting abortion, and they see an opening right now to push through these restrictions.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what about the rest of the country? Do people really care about this issue?
--:-- Anna North: I don't think so. I mean, if you survey Americans, they'll say they don't love the idea of abortion, but they think it should be legal in some circumstances.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Thanks, Anna, for explaining all of this to us.
--:-- Anna North: Thanks for having me, Sean.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And to our listeners, thanks for tuning in. If you want to learn more about the Google Cloud Platform and how it can help you use data to improve your business, go to g.co slash getcloudai.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Today Explained is produced in association with Stitcher, and we're part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our executive producer is Irene Noguchi. We're produced by Bridget McCarthy, Noam Hassenfeld, and Luke Vanderplug. Afim Shapiro is our engineer, and Kathy makes music for us. Shout-outs to Vox's Karen Turner for helping us with the show this week, and to Vox's Julie Bogan for crushing it for us on Twitter.com. Find us at today underscore explained. Thanks for listening.
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