The Dobbs Decision Isn't Just About Abortion. It's About Power.
About this episode
Recorded days after Dobbs v. Jackson overturned Roe v. Wade, this episode has Slate's Supreme Court correspondent Dahlia Lithwick argue the decision is less about legal doctrine than the raw exercise of conservative power — the culmination of a decades-long project. She explains how Roe grew out of unenumerated-rights doctrine (Griswold, substantive due process), what the trimester framework and Casey's reliance interest were, and why Alito's 'deeply rooted in history' test threatens precedents like Loving and Obergefell — a point the dissent made and Justice Thomas's concurrence amplified. The discussion covers stare decisis, Chief Justice Roberts's failed attempt at a narrower ruling, the majority's careful avoidance of discussing the fetus, and what Lithwick calls the 'doom loop of minority rule': unpopular rulings on abortion and guns issuing from an unaccountable Court.