"In an instant, tens of millions of Americans lost the right to control what happens to their bodies."
What can't be lost in all the political and legal analyses of this moment is the human toll of the decision. |
 | | Doug Mills/The New York Times |
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Something I've been wondering in the weeks since a draft decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization leaked to the press in May: If Roe v. Wade would indeed be overturned, as the draft suggested, would that moment still feel momentous? Or would the leak drain it of its shock value? |
As it turns out, there was plenty of shock left in all of us. Or let me speak for myself: I could not have been more prepared for this outcome, having followed the Dobbs case for months — and having covered this issue for years. Still, I found it a profoundly humbling and moving moment, to see those words on my computer screen, that Roe v. Wade was gone. Expecting it was one thing. But experiencing it was another. |
At Times Opinion, we've spent the hours since Friday's decision reflecting on this seismic national event. "I still really feel like I've been punched in the stomach," said Michelle Goldberg, an Opinion columnist, in a round table conversation hosted by Lulu Garcia-Navarro, the host of the "First Person" podcast. "It's good to see an opinion that undoes the injustice of Roe, but obviously we don't have a culture that fully supports women," said Leah Libresco Sargeant, a pro-life writer who joined us in that discussion. |
We've also spent the past day dissecting what the Dobbs decision could mean for the future, in many profound ways. The abortion-rights historian Mary Ziegler wrote about how the decision could alter American democracy as we know it, while Linda Greenhouse, who spent decades as a Supreme Court reporter for The Times, wrote a requiem for that institution. And Karen Swallow Prior, a pro-life advocate, shared her thoughts on what comes next for the movement she's devoted much of her life to. |
What can't be lost in all the political and legal analyses of this moment is the human toll of the decision. It will indeed be immense, as the editorial board noted on Friday. "Without full control over their bodies, women will lose their ability to function as equal members of American society," the board wrote. |
It's no wonder the overturning of Roe came as such a blow despite having been long portended. In an instant, tens of millions of Americans lost the right to control what happens to their bodies. We've left a version of our country behind, and there's no going back. |
| READ MORE ON THE FALL OF ROE | | | | | |
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