logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2022
36m 6s

An Abortion Rights Champion of the 1970s...

The New York Times
About this episode

A little over 50 years ago, Nancy Stearns, a young lawyer, was presenting a case in New York with a bold legal assertion: that the right to abortion was fundamental to equal rights for women.

She never got to conclude her argument — first New York changed the law, then came Roe v. Wade. Now, with Roe overturned, she describes how it feels to watch the right to terminate a pregnancy fall away.

Guest: Nancy Stearns, a lawyer who used an argument of equal rights to challenge the constitutionality of abortion bans.

Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter

Background reading: 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Up next
Yesterday
Trump’s Top Aides Spread the Epstein Conspiracy. Now They Are Trying to Kill It.
For months, President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi suggested that they would expose the hidden, potentially sinister truth about Jeffrey Epstein’s death in 2019.But over the past few days, the Trump administrationWhite House decided to shut down has poured cold water on t ... Show More
21m 47s
Jul 8
A Love Letter to Camp Mystic
On Monday evening, the death toll from the flooding in Central Texas rose past 100. A single place accounted for 27 of those deaths: Camp Mystic, a century-old Christian summer camp for girls.Erin Paisan, who attended Camp Mystic, explains what the place meant to generations of g ... Show More
25m 9s
Jul 7
A Dark Moment for Journalism — and Devastation in Texas
Last week, when Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, announced a $16 million settlement with President Trump over editing of a segment of “60 Minutes,” many of the network’s journalists were furious.The deal also raised questions about the independence of CBS’s journalism, ... Show More
34m 15s
Recommended Episodes
May 2022
Is this the end of Roe v Wade?
A draft Supreme Court opinion on the law defining a woman’s right to have an abortion in America was leaked last week, causing uproar - and celebration. So, what’s the history of this law - and what would the end of Roe v Wade mean?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the su ... Show More
34m 13s
May 2022
Checks and Balance: After Roe
A leaked draft opinion suggests that the Supreme Court is preparing to overturn Roe v Wade. But the verdict will not end fights over abortion in America. Both pro-choice and anti-abortion movements are furiously preparing for what comes next. What will the post-Roe era look like? ... Show More
47m 8s
Sep 2021
Checks and Balance: Life choices
When the Supreme Court declined to block a Texas law prohibiting most abortions after six weeks, it gave the strongest signal yet that its conservative majority is prepared to deny women the right to an abortion. Nearly fifty years after Roe v Wade, might that landmark ruling soo ... Show More
40m 34s
Jun 2023
After Roe: Navigating the Legal Landscape of New Abortion Laws
One year after Roe v Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, we were wondering: what is happening to people caught up in the web of changing law? It's been a tumultuous and uncertain era for reproductive rights, so this week The Assignment checks in on the acti ... Show More
32m 6s
Jun 2022
Cascade of states move to outlaw abortion
As a cascade of states move to outlaw abortion following the SCOTUS ruling overturning Roe, Sara speaks to both sides of the abortion rights debate. Dr. Meera Shah argues all abortion bans do is traumatize women, especially the poor and medically underserved, while physician and ... Show More
41m 3s
Dec 2021
Why Two Experts Think The Supreme Court Is Prepared To Roll Back Roe V. Wade
The Supreme Court heard arguments for a case that challenges the foundation of Roe v. Wade, the decision that originally made abortion legal. In their questioning, the conservative justices seemed primed to overturn the fifty year old precedent. That decision would radically chan ... Show More
13m 52s
Jun 2023
A British woman is jailed for abortion - does the law need to change?
A woman has been sentenced to 28 months in prison after using abortion pills to end her pregnancy after the legal time limit, sparking protests and calls for abortion to be decriminalised. But could law reform risk abortion rights becoming more restrictive?This podcast was brough ... Show More
30m 45s