On Friday, June 24th, the Supreme Court released its opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The decision overrules the landmark cases Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which held that women have the constitutional right to seek pre-viability abortions. In this episode, professors Mary Ziegler of UC Davis Law School and O. Carter Snead of Notre Dame Law School join once again to unpack the constitutional reasoning in the majority opinion and the dissent, and the implications for the future of other unenumerated rights in America. Jeffrey Rosen moderates.
FULL PODCAST
Please subscribe to We the People and Live at the National Constitution Center on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
This episode was produced by Melody Rowell and engineered by Dave Stotz. Research was provided by Colin Thibault, Vishan Chaudhary, Samuel Turner, Sam Desai, and Lana Ulrich.
Participants
Mary Ziegler is a professor at the University of California, Davis, School of Law. She specializes in the legal history of reproduction, the family, sexuality, and the Constitution. Her most recent book is Dollars for Life: The Antiabortion Movement and the Fall of the Republican Establishment. She’s also the author of Abortion and the Law in America: A Legal History, Roe v. Wade to the Present.
O. Carter Snead is Professor of Law and Director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame Law School. He is one of the world’s leading experts on public bioethics. He is the author of What It Means to be Human: The Case for the Body in Public Bioethics. In addition to his scholarship and teaching, he has provided advice on the legal and public policy dimensions of bioethical questions to officials in all three branches of the U.S. government.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
Additional Resources
- Read the majority opinion authored by Justice Alito and the dissent co-authored by Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan.
- Listen to “The Dobbs v. Jackson case – Part 1,” from November 25, 2021
- Listen to “The Dobbs v. Jackson case – Part 2,” from December 3, 2021
- Listen to “The Dobbs v. Jackson Case – Part 3,” from May 12, 2022
- Read Dollars for Life: The Anti-Abortion Movement and the Fall of the Republican Establishment by Mary Ziegler
- Read What It Means to Be Human: The Case for the Body in Public Bioethics by O. Carter Snead
TRANSCRIPT
This transcript may not be in its final form, accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST!
Your generous support enables the National Constitution Center to thrive as America’s leading platform for nonpartisan constitutional education and civil dialogue.
Stay Connected and Learn More
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].
Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.
Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly.
