Despite the attention that Roe v. Wade has gotten throughout the years, there are still many details about the case that are obscure to the public. For one, the landmark case that legalized most abortions for women did not in fact end with an abortion. The baby, often referred to as Baby Roe, is Shelly Lynn Thornton, now a grown woman whose story is at the center of Joshua Prager's book The Family Roe. In an interview with All Things Considered, Prager told Michel Martin that through the family's story, he hoped to humanize the debate and help others see abortion "not through politics, but people."
A leaked draft opinion in the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization has placed uncertainty on the future of abortion rights in the United States. As written, the opinion would overturn Roe v. Wade protections. We at Short Wave were immediately curious about the data behind abortions: What happens when pregnant people are denied abortions?
For answers, we turned to Dr. Diana Greene Foster, the lead researcher on the interdisciplinary team behind The Turnaway Study. For over a decade, she and her fellow researchers followed just under a thousand women who sought an abortion across 21 states. These data may give us insight into pregnant people's lives in a post Roe v. Wade United States.
- Read more about The Turnaway Study on UCSF's website: https://bit.ly/3P1tV8B - Read the research resulting from The Turnaway Study: https://bit.ly/3KNAit8 - Read Dr. Foster's book, The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having — or Being Denied — an Abortion: https://bit.ly/3si0i9z
On this week’s installment of Best Of The Gist—which we are publishing on Sunday instead of our usual Saturday—we’ve chosen to run a large chunk of the September 18, 2020 Gist tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the day of her passing. Mike was joined that day by Emily Bazelon. We are also listening back to the opening of our Tuesday show, in which Mike laments on the stripping of a right from the American people.
In the face of over 100,000 overdose deaths throughout the U.S. last year, New York City opened the nation’s first safe consumption sites. Trained professionals monitor drug use and intervene to prevent deaths from overdose. The sites are predictably divisive, drawing intense criticism and praise alike, but behind that debate lies a long list of crucial unknowns. Will the sites enable addiction or guide users toward recovery? Will it compound harms to the community or help alleviate the social burden of the opioid epidemic? One thing is clear: these sites are saving lives. But what are the lasting impacts of this audacious experiment? The Lost Debate brings you a special report from inside the nation’s first legal safe consumption site.
Today on "The Daily Signal Podcast," we are featuring the latest episode of "SCOTUS 101" a sister podcast on the Heritage Podcast Network. Subscribe to SCOTUS 101: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scotus-101/id1282064006
This week saw the biggest leak in Supreme Court history: a leaked opinion. And not just any opinion, but an early draft of a purported majority decision in the Dobbs case, which would, if issued, overrule Roe v. Wade and return abortion policy to the people of each state. Zack and GianCarlo chat about the leak, what it means for the Court, and what ought to happen to the leaker. They also discuss all the other news that was drowned out by the leak including the memorial service for Justice John Paul Stevens and a major First Amendment opinion issued this week. GianCarlo then interviews Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, and they talk about her career and her legal strategy in Dobbs. Finally, Zack quizzes GianCarlo about Justice Stevens' life and career.
Every year, on the second Sunday in May, 96 countries around the world celebrate Mother’s Day. Dozens of other countries celebrate the same thing on different days throughout the year.
Mother’s Day wasn’t always a thing, however. Its creation was due to a small number of very determined people…and, of course, greeting card companies.
Learn more about Mother’s Day and how it became a holiday on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
The Mekong Delta is home to 17 million people and is Vietnam’s most productive agricultural region. An international group of scientists warn this week that almost all of the low lying delta will have sunk beneath the sea within 80 years without international action. Its disappearance is the result of both sea level rise and developments such as dams and sand mining, as Matt Kondolf of the University of California, Berkeley explains to Roland Pease.
Also in the programme:
Seismologist Laura Emert on using the rumbling of traffic in Mexico City to monitor earthquake hazards.
Mars-shaking Marsquakes – recent record-breaking quakes on Mars explained by seismologist Anna Horleston of Bristol University.
A record-breaking high jumping robot designed by mechanical engineer and roboticist Elliot Hawkes which is so light it can access any terrain, perhaps even the moon.
And gene editing….
Humans now have the ability to directly change their DNA and gene-editing tool CRISPR has led to a new era in gene-editing. CrowdScience listener ‘Bones’ wants to know how gene-editing is currently being used and what might be possible in the future.
Gene-editing offers huge opportunities for the prevention and treatment of human diseases, and trials are currently underway in a wide range of diseases like sickle cell anaemia. CrowdScience presenter Caroline Steel finds out about some of the most promising work tackling disease before turning to consider the possibilities of using gene editing for non-medical changes.
Will we be able to extend human longevity, swap our eye colour or enhance athletic performance? And even if we can do all these things, should we?
As scientists push the boundaries of gene-editing and some people are DIY experimenting on themselves with CRISPR, we discuss the practical and ethical challenges facing this promising but potentially perilous area of science.
Photo: Mekong River in Kampong Cham, Cambodia
Credit: Muaz Jaffar/EyeEm/Getty Images
Presenters: Roland Pease and Caroline Steel
Producers: Andrew Luck-Baker and Melanie Brown
Earlier this week, a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court suggested that after nearly 50 years, the court intends to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
Almost as soon as abortions became legal, opponents began organizing efforts to repeal the law. Eighteen states now have so-called "trigger laws" that will ban abortions the moment that Roe v. Wade is overturned or pre-"Roe" era bans that remain on the books, ready once again, to fall into place.
We'll look back at the longstanding efforts by legal, political and religious groups - on both sides of the debate - that have led to this moment. And we'll discuss what comes next.
