A year ago, when the Supreme Court decided Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. proclaimed the death of abortion rights to be a victory for American democracy, one that might de-escalate political conflict. A month ahead of the Dobbs anniversary, Washington Post columnist George Will celebrated the court for restoring “abortion politics to the status of a state’s choice” — a move, Will argued, that has led to a “partial healing of the nation’s civic culture.”
But the idea that Dobbs is leading to any kind of healing ignores the reality on the ground in states, hospitals and courtrooms across the United States. Stories abound of people denied medical care and abortion bans threatening women’s lives. When Oklahoma’s Supreme Court required meaningful exceptions to the state’s bans, the court explained — in chilling detail — how close to death the Legislature could push a pregnant woman under the state’s constitution.
So far, the dominant response to Dobbs has been resistance, not healing.
