Two months after the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Americans are navigating an unstable legal landscape. So-called trigger laws banned abortion in more than a dozen states, and state lawmakers rushed to pass even more restrictions, which were quickly challenged in court — creating confusion among abortion patients and health care providers alike.
To help bring clarity to these seismic changes around reproductive health access and policy, ProPublica is organizing “Post-Roe,” a three-part virtual event series starting in September. The discussions will help illuminate long-term consequences of the ruling and subsequent legislation. Each event will draw on the newsroom’s reporting and include a panel of experts to answer participants’ questions.
The first event, “Post-Roe: Testing the Law” on Sept. 7, will examine how anti-abortion activists are pursuing novel legal strategies that could be used as model legislation at the state level. In one case reported by ProPublica, a woman’s ex-husband is suing a Phoenix clinic over an abortion she received more than four years ago — a rare tactic, though experts say it could be a harbinger of things to come as anti-abortion legislators test out new ways to restrict abortion and intimidate providers.
The second and third events will explore how private reproductive health challenges have been exacerbated by new abortion restrictions, as well as the psychological and material consequences for people when the state forces them to give birth to children that they don’t want and can’t afford. Sign up here to stay updated on ProPublica’s events and more.