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Supreme Court will rule on abortion rights once again. What’s at stake now?
“The [abortion pill case] affects women across the country, it’s not state by state,” Bazelon stresses, “It’s the FDA’s authority to allow pills to be shipped everywhere and other rules that have made abortion pills more accessible for women in blue as well as red states.”
A group of doctors is challenging the Food and Drug Administration's authority to allow doctors to prescribe abortion pills without an in-person visit with a patient and for those pills to be sent through the mail. Bazelon explains that this group of plaintiffs is unusual in that they haven’t yet experienced direct harm from the FDA’s ruling, which you usually need to prove has happened before a case makes it all the way up to the highest court in the land. Four female justices are also on the bench this year, a historic high-water mark. Could that make a difference in the way justices rule on either case?
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week on US public television (check local listings) and online.
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The major Supreme Court decisions to watch for in June
In June, the US Supreme Court will begin issuing decisions on cases involving everything from reproductive rights to gun ownership to homeless encampments to former president Donald Trump’s criminal cases. Yale Law School Lecturer and staff writer at the New York Times Magazine Emily Bazelon joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to unpack some of the biggest cases on the docket this year and what’s at stake in some of the major decisions expected to come down next month.
This year’s SCOTUS term comes at a time when approval for the Court is at an all-time low. As of September of 2023, a record 58% of Americans disapproved of how the Court handles its job. That follows multiple ethics scandals involving Associate Justice Clarence Thomas and a string of conservative decisions, including the 2022 Dobbs decision striking down the right to abortion, increasingly out of step with public opinion. With the Court wading into the 2024 election and former President Trump’s immunity claims, it risks being seen by the public as even more partisan and politicized.
“As an American, I want to have a good faith belief in the justices’ approach,” Bazelon says, “After a certain number of cases come out in particular ways, you start to feel like cynicism is realism about the Court."
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week on US public television (check local listings) and online.
The US Supreme Court, less trusted than ever, votes on major cases in June: Emily Bazelon on what to expect
Listen: It’s a big year for the US Supreme Court. In June, SCOTUS will begin issuing decisions on a number of politically charged cases, including abortion rights, gun control, and whether former president Donald Trump will stand trial for criminal cases, just as the 2024 election season shifts into high gear. Yale Law School lecturer and staff writer at The New York Times Magazine Emily Bazelon joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast to unpack some of the biggest cases on the docket this year, what's at stake, and what expected rulings will mean for the future of our democracy. This year’s term comes as public approval for SCOTUS hit a record low. The Court is facing accusations of politicization following ethics scandals involving Justice Clarence Thomas and a string of decisions from the conservative majority that advanced Republican policy goals, such as striking down the federal right to abortion. The Court was designed to remain above the political fray, but with the stakes so high in a presidential election year, does it risk being seen as just another partisan institution?
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Graphic Truth: Abortion meds in SCOTUS case are crucial
The US Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday on whether access to mifepristone, an oral drug used to terminate a pregnancy, should be restricted. The drug works by blocking progesterone, a hormone that’s necessary for a pregnancy to continue. The case centers on whether changes the FDA made in 2016 and 2021, which broadened access to the drug, should be rolled back.
Women take part in a protest in support of safe and legal abortion access in Mexico City.
Mexico decriminalizes abortion
In a landmark decision, Mexico’s Supreme Court has decriminalized abortion nationwide. It’s a big deal for the predominantly Catholic country, where federal healthcare workers in many places were penalized for performing the procedure.
Quick recap: This ruling builds on an earlier decision by Mexico’s Supreme Court that said decisions about abortion should be made at the state level. Still, abortion has remained illegal in 20 of the country’s 32 states, and in some rural areas where it was legalized, women didn’t even know they had access, women's rights groups argue.
The regional picture. Latin America has traditionally been home to some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world due to the influence of the Catholic Church. But mass mobilization efforts – dubbed the Marea Verde (Green Wave) – have indeed swept Latin America in recent years, spurred by renewed calls for enhancement of sexual and reproductive freedoms. (Ironically, much of this was inspired by the now-defunct Roe v. Wade ruling in the US.) In Argentina, abortion was legalized in December 2020, marking the first time that women in that country could legally terminate their pregnancies in over a century. Similar shifts have taken place in Colombia, Guyana and Uruguay.
In Mexico, where roughly 20% of births occur among adolescents and contraception needs remain unmet, this decision will drastically alter the social landscape.
Ohio vote reflects abortion’s mobilizing power
Voters in the Buckeye State on Tuesday, with 57% of the vote, struck down Issue 1, a Republican-backed proposal aimed at making it harder to change the state’s constitution. If it had passed, a constitutional amendment on abortion rights planned for this November would’ve required a 60% supermajority to pass.
Proponents advertised it as a safeguard against mob rule and wealthy out-of-state interests, but opponents saw it as a thinly veiled attack on abortion rights. Blatant admissions from Republicans and a flood of money from pro-life groups backing Issue 1 reinforced those concerns.
The result reflects how powerful abortion is as a mobilizing force for Democrats. Ohio’s voter turnout more than doubled from recent state elections, driven largely by Democratic and Independent voters who wouldn’t have normally tuned into a summer election but got involved because abortion rights were on the line.
The big turnout echoed the 2022 Midterms, where abortion-protecting initiatives won in every state where they were on the ballot. The issue boosted Democratic turnout overall, enabling them to maintain control of the Senate and gain governorships in a year when election trends predicted GOP gains.
It also showed that Republicans pushing for abortion restrictions are out of step with the wider electorate. According to a New York Times/Siena College poll last month, a majority of voters across every region of the country believe that abortion should be all or mostly legal. Most 2024 Republican presidential hopefuls have sidestepped the issue – even Donald Trump, who appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, has avoided endorsing any kind of restrictions.
Protecting abortion has become a priority for a large portion of voters, especially in swing states like Florida, Ohio, Michigan, and Arizona, where Republican legislatures quickly moved to restrict abortion access after the Dobbs decision. Ahead of the 2024 election, where polling shows lukewarm Democratic support for Biden, abortion could become an invaluable tactic to boost turnout in key battleground states.
India is not a US ally ... or is it?
If the United States and India were ever to make it Facebook official, their status would be: "It's Complicated." These two global behemoths may seem like close allies, especially judging by the warm welcome President Biden gave Prime Minister Modi during his White House visit in June, but in reality, they are anything but best friends.
During the Cold War era, India maintained a "strategically non-aligned" global status and it has tried to stay on the geopolitical fence since fall of the Soviet Union. But when Russia invaded Ukraine and Delhi refused to explicitly condemn Moscow, India's self-proclaimed "multilateral" approach was severely tested.
On the show this week, a deep dive into the nation that recently surpassed China to become the most populous country on earth. Ian is joined by award-winning broadcast journalist and Washington Post contributor Barkha Dutt to talk US-India relations, the state of democracy within India, and how the trauma of COVID has reshaped the country.
Tune in to “GZERO World with Ian Bremmer” on US public television starting this Friday, July 7, to watch the full interview. Check local listings.
One year since Roe v. Wade reversal, biggest surprises in state law
Surprises and non-surprises surrounded the Supreme Court's landmark Dobbs ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade last year. It started with the infamous leak to POLITICO about the ruling to come, and then the decision itself came down nearly a year ago today. But according to GZERO World guest Yale Law legal expert Emily Bazelon, one of the biggest surprises happened after the ruling.
"What has been surprising has been the ballot initiatives that have uniformly so far protected abortion rights in the six states where they have been up for a vote, including in Kansas." The fact that, at least at the state level, abortion has fared much better than expected this past year, Bazelon says, has to do with the voters themselves.
"When abortion is put to voters directly, one issue they can concentrate on, they are more interested in protecting abortion rights than I think a lot of people on the right and the left expected."
Tune into GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on US public television stations nationwide. Check local listings.
For more on the Supreme Court and what to expect from anticipated rulings this year, watch this episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer: "Who polices the Supreme Court?"
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