The United States Of Abortion

A no-nonsense guide to reproductive rights in 2023.

"MIFEGYNE" text sign on abortion medical equipment
Holly Clark/Stocksy, Shana Novak/Getty Images

When I was 15, I learned about my ancestor Sarah Shapiro, who died from an illegal abortion in 1930. She was a first-generation American, whose Ashkenazi family had settled in Connecticut shortly after her birth. She had gray eyes and was uniquely “full of life,” according to family lore. She died in her mid twenties.

On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned decades of judicial precedent to remove a nationwide right to abortion care, which has me thinking of Sarah. As is common in Jewish tradition, her name has been carried by descendants. My grandma, Emily Sarah, was given the name in Massachusetts, from where she and other Sarahs have taken it to states like New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Michigan. Jewish teachings often allow for and support abortion care.

With the Supreme Court’s decision, individual states will assume jurisdiction of the procedure within their borders. Twenty-six are poised to enact bans almost immediately, like in Oklahoma, whose new law — one of the country’s strictest — makes the procedure illegal except in cases of life endangerment, rape, or incest. Anti-choice legislators are also now targeting medication abortions, which accounted for a majority of U.S. abortions in 2020.

Since its 2013 launch, Bustle has provided award-winning reporting on reproductive justice and will continue to do so. “The most important economic decision a woman makes in her lifetime is if and when to have a child,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told writer Andrea Zelinski in May 2022. “Join us in this fight. Carry petitions, collect signatures for the ballot initiative, knock doors. Help us get the word out.”

Brianna Kovan, features editor

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SDI Productions, Manoocher Deghati, Peter Dazeley/Getty Images
Quick Question

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Celebrity

Paris Hilton Opens Up About Having An Abortion In Her Early 20s

“This was also something that I didn’t want to talk about because there was so much shame around that.”

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Celebrity

Madeline Brewer Continues To Champion A Person’s Right To Choose

The Handmaid’s Tale actor previously shared her personal story in support of access to legal abortions.

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Rule Breakers

Doug Emhoff Is Changing What It Means To Be A “Wife Guy”

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In Their Words

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Power

The “You’re Wrong About” Podcast Published A Powerful Episode About Abortion

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Health

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Politics

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Without federal abortion protection, governors are now the last line of defense.

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Celebrity

Chrissy Teigen Reveals Her Miscarriage Was An Abortion That Saved Her Life

“I told you all we had a miscarriage because I thought that was what it was.”

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Theater

Julianne Hough On The Standout 'POTUS' Line That Hits Different After Roe v. Wade

Eight times a week on Broadway, her character declares that “affordable, safe reproductive healthcare is a basic human right.”

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Books

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If you’re looking to learn more about the issue, pick up one of these titles.

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Celebrity

Demi Lovato, Jessica Chastain & More Stars Celebrated The 4th Of July By Protesting

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Taking Action

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Take Action

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