The Supreme Court on abortion rights

Guests: Amy Howe, David Cohen and Nina Martin

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the first abortion-related case the Court has heard in 9 years. The case is a challenge to Texas’ 2013 law which placed several restrictions on abortion providers and if allowed to stand would close almost seventy-five percent of abortion clinics in the state. We’ll start off the hour hearing from AMY HOWE of SCOTUSblog about yesterday’s proceedings. Then, we’ll dig deeper into the case with Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law professor DAVID S. COHEN and ProPublica reporter NINA MARTIN. We’ll talk about how it might refine the legal concept of “undue burden” in a woman’s right to choose which was established in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, the Pennsylvania case the Supreme Court decided almost 25 years ago. We’ll also explore the role that the 2013 murder conviction of Philadelphia abortion provider Kermit Gosnell has played in the passage of stricter abortion laws throughout the country.