logo
episode-header-image
May 2022
24m 19s

Abortion in the US

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Abortion is a deeply divisive issue in the United States that spans the law, religion and women’s rights. It has been a legal right for almost 50 years. Now, the Supreme Court – the top court in the country – is expected to overturn the law and rule that abortions can banned. It’s put abortion back towards the top of the political debate and we reflect some of the conversations taking place among those affected. Two women share their experiences and personal reasons for terminating their pregnancies, including one that resulted from sexual assault.

Up next
Yesterday
Bonus. World of Secrets: The Killing Call
Sidhu Moose Wala explodes onto the Canadian music scene. His sound is a fusion of two worlds - hip-hop with the poetic language of rural Punjab, where he is from. After years of struggle he is making it. But with the spotlight comes a dark side. As his fame grows, so do the threa ... Show More
35m 54s
Jul 8
Re-homing France’s immigrant workers
France’s last foyers – housing for immigrant workers – are set for demolition. But some current residents are worried about what they’ll lose. Hundreds of “foyers” - housing units especially for immigrant workers – were built after World War II. The economy was booming and France ... Show More
27m 11s
Jul 7
Max Kidruk: Imagining the future in a science fiction trilogy
How do you imagine the future if you are a science fiction writer living in the present with your country at war? That is the challenge and dilemma for best selling author Max Kidruk. As he nears completion of Collapse, the second volume of a science fiction trilogy The New Dark ... Show More
26m 20s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2022
Coming soon … Abortion: The Body Politic
Forty-nine years ago, the landmark Roe v Wade decision guaranteed women the right to a safe, legal abortion. This June, the Supreme Court is expected to gut that historic ruling, triggering restrictive abortion laws in at least 23 states. While the United States is on the precipi ... Show More
3m 1s
Jun 2023
The State of Abortion One Year Post Dobbs: Frances Kissling Returns To The Unspeakable
It’s been exactly a year since the Supreme Court officially overturned Roe v. Wade, thereby eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion. Last May, shortly after that decision was leaked to the press, bioethicist and legendary abortion rights activist Frances Kissling ... Show More
1h 21m
Jul 2022
What impact could Roe v Wade abortion ruling have on Africa?
In June 2022, the US Supreme court overturned “Roe v Wade”, a landmark case which legalised abortion in 1973. It came after a young woman challenged the criminal abortion laws in Texas. Her case was heard on appeal in the US Supreme Court. The court ruled that a woman's right to ... Show More
16m 43s
Oct 2021
Inside a Texas Abortion Clinic
On August 31st, Marva Sadler stood outside the Whole Women’s Health abortion clinic in Fort Worth, Texas, and vowed to help as many people as she could before the end of the day. Along with a small staff, Sadler and a physician performed 67 abortions before midnight. The next day ... Show More
29m 37s
Aug 2022
The Effort to Punish Women for Having Abortions
Even as the anti-abortion movement celebrates victories at the Supreme Court and in many states across the country, there is debate about where to go next.A hard-edge faction is pursuing “abortion abolition,” a move to criminalize abortion from conception, targeting not only the ... Show More
33m 36s
Jun 2024
Global Abortion Access After Roe
In the past thirty years, sixty countries have expanded access to abortion care as an underpinning of maternal health. The 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade made the United States the fourth country ever to decrease access to abortion—and the world took not ... Show More
24m 55s
Dec 2023
Abortion Outrage
Earlier this week, the Texas Supreme Court ruled against a pregnant woman in Dallas seeking an abortion following a fatal fetal diagnosis. The ruling prompted outcries from abortion-rights activists across the country. Former Sen. Claire McCaskill and Jennifer Palmieri are joined ... Show More
39m 28s
Aug 2022
Abortion Bans Have Consequences For Wanted Pregnancies, Too
Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, a dozen states have implemented laws banning or severely restricting abortion. Those laws have consequences for wanted pregnancies, too. NPR's Carrie Feibel brings us the story of a woman in Texas whose pregnancy took a sudden turn. Because of the s ... Show More
13m 32s