This week, we continue our coverage of the fallout from an expected Supreme Court decision to overrule Roe v. Wade.
Mitchell Zimmerman highlights one grimly predictable result: more dead mothers — whether from politicians interfering with people’s health care decisions, or from punishing people for making their own. Cartoonist Khalil Bendib likens these politicians to an American Taliban.
But as Mitchell emphasizes this week, and as Olivia Alperstein laid out brilliantly last week, much more than abortion is at stake. This week, I look at Justice Samuel Alito’s ruling that abortion should be decided by “the people’s elected representatives.”
As Alito well knows, I write, in much of the country “the people’s representatives” are anything but. Thanks to extreme gerrymandering and voter suppression, many states have become functional autocracies — the last governments you’d want legislating on people’s civil rights. They’ll need to be reformed — and so will the Supreme Court.
Finally, court reform is one of many issues on the mind of Tracey Rogers, who writes this week about the difficult situation younger Americans are inheriting. Especially during graduation season, she writes, political figures love to tell younger voters that they’ll shape the future. But for that to be possible, today’s leaders will need to do a much better job of protecting democracy.
New This Week…
An Ugly New Era for “States’ Rights” | Peter Certo
The Supreme Court is giving extreme new powers to increasingly autocratic state governments. That’s not democracy.
The GOP’s ‘Pro-Life’ Victory Will Mean More Dead Mothers | Mitchell Zimmerman
Anti-choice states already have the highest maternal mortality and infant mortality rates. Soon, those who survive could face execution.
Politicians: Stop Passing the Buck to Young People | Tracey L. Rogers
If we’re going to shape the future, they need to do their part to protect our democracy today.
American Taliban | Khalil Bendib
First abortion, then birth control… are head-to-toe coverings next?
In Case You Missed It…
Nothing Is More Personal Than the Right to Control Your Own Body | Olivia Alperstein
Roe doesn’t just protect abortion rights. It’s the keystone that keeps politicians out of the most intimate aspects of our lives.
With the Stroke of a Pen, Biden Could Set Millions of Americans Free | Sa’iyda Shabazz
Tens of millions of us are weighed down by crushing student debt. Debt relief would be a game changer.
Liberation Is Jewish History. Let’s Make It Our Future, Too. | Sarah Gertler
Jewish people should defend our heritage and stand up against violent injustices in our name.
For Second-Generation Immigrants, the American Dream Can Be a Nightmare | Monica Grover
As I take the care — and debts — of my elderly immigrant parents, I wonder how I’ll ever achieve my own success. Here’s what we can do about it.
