The Roe v. Wade case was only one of many cases making its way to the Supreme Court around 1970, which coincided with a period of social change. The decision legalized abortion for any reason, overturning state laws that restricted access to the procedure.
In the legal realm, there are conservative perspectives that interpret the Constitution based on its text on how it would have been understood during its enactment, while progressive views believe the Constitution must adapt to modern circumstances to protect the right to bodily autonomy, contraception, and other individual liberties. These differing perspectives lead to disagreements over the degree of government regulation and prohibition of certain acts, particularly with regards to abortion.
The Texas anti-abortion law creates unlimited standing to sue across state boundaries, opens the door to circumventing people's Second Amendment rights, ignores the Republican Party's bedrock plank of ending frivolous lawsuits, and ultimately harms the pro-life movement.
The Supreme Court used to feel fair, just, and above politics. However, recent events, such as flipping a 50-year-old law, the interview and confirmation process and retiring justices, have resulted in a loss of trust in the court's politics leading to motivation for conservative legislatures and attorneys general.
A discussion on the importance of understanding men's and women's experiences in regards to reproductive rights, and the need for a shift in focus to effectively sell the concept to all people, including men.
The speaker argues that a Supreme Court ruling based on women's equality would not have made a difference in upholding abortion rights as opponents would have found another way to justify taking them away. However, a ruling on women's equality may have been harder to argue against than Roe v. Wade.