roe v. wade
Fantasy and reality after Roe
One can imagine an anti-abortion politics that started with economic solidarity or righteous fury at male sexual license. But the thought experiment only demonstrates its own absurdity.
Roe v. Wade was a compromise
It established a right—a limited one—to make your own decisions in a complex ethical area.
A pastoral encounter with abortion I’ll never forget
The teenager told me she was down to her last option: a hanger.
Law is too blunt an instrument for the complex realities of abortion
People’s lives elude sharply drawn lines.
Asking better questions about abortion
"Should it be legal?" has not been serving us well.
When pro-lifers were progressives
Most of us only know the pro-life movement after Roe v. Wade. But there's a fuller history—with surprising turns.
Two Supreme Court cases that were actually about religious freedom
The case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby has received extraordinary attention as a site of struggle between faith and law. The Supreme Court’s decision that businesses may refuse on principle to provide contraception coverage has not been a shining hour for religious freedom. Many observers fear that the ruling will do less to protect that freedom than to expand the power of corporations.
Hobby Lobby has overshadowed two other suits this term that offered more compelling instances of conscience in action.
Forty years after Roe v. Wade
Today is the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Amanda Marcotte brings up a crucial point: while the cultural image of an abortion patient continues to be someone a lot like the title character in Juno, the reality has changed considerably.