Good morning, Broadsheet readers! The Supreme Court upholds a law banning domestic abusers from owning guns, women in Japan are suing for easier access to sterilization, and today is the anniversary of the Dobbs decision. Have a great Monday!
– Two years later. It’s been two years since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion in its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.
In the time since, 14 states have banned abortion outright and a handful of others have implemented gestational limits lower than the viability standard set by Roe v. Wade 50 years ago. Doctors have fled red states because of onerous new laws, leading to shortages. Maternal health outcomes have gotten substantially worse, and some conservatives are now going after IVF, contraceptives, and other reproductive health care. Any day now, the Supreme Court will rule on whether hospitals in states with total bans must provide patients with emergency abortion care.
All of these were predictable outcomes of the decision, says Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. But she isn’t giving up hope that access will improve for women.
In the face of these trials and restrictions, women and other allies are still fighting for their freedoms. Consider: Many states, like my home state of Michigan, have added new protections or even enshrined abortion and other reproductive health care rights in their constitutions. In each of six states that have put abortion measures on ballots since the Dobbs decision, the side favoring abortion access has won. Many brave women have come forward to share their stories and demand better from politicians and others who are restricting women’s access to health care.
Northup has worked at the Center for 20 years. In that time, she’s seen the conversation around reproductive health care transform, with women no longer afraid to push lawmakers, and media outlets covering the issue extensively. She is also optimistic that businesses will continue to provide comprehensive care for employees and step up in the face of further restrictions.
“The focus on what has this meant for businesses, how are employers thinking about it, will increasingly be an important point of discussion,” she says. “The business sector is realizing these policies are really bad for business, and their employees, and the business environment.”
Of course, employer action may come too little too late for many women, and the health care benefits of individual companies can’t replace nationwide protections. All eyes are now on this fall’s presidential election, in which abortion could play a decisive role in the outcome. Northup is hopeful that Congress will still pass federal abortion protections—assuming it gets the votes to do so.
“I do think we are on a trajectory to regain abortion rights in places where they’ve been denied,” she says. “With work, things will be changed.”
Alicia Adamczyk
alicia.adamczyk@fortune.com
The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Abusers disarmed. The Supreme Court almost unanimously upheld a law barring convicted domestic abusers from legally owning firearms. The specific case at hand centered around a Texas man who was implicated in multiple shootings after assaulting his ex-partner. NBC
- For the country. Tatyana Bakalchuk, Russia’s richest woman and the owner of the country’s Amazon equivalent, is building a new Putin-approved international payment platform to replace the one Russia was banned from after invading Ukraine. Bloomberg
- Sweet success. A new Fortune interview with Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi reveals how she built a dessert empire that’s served the likes of Taylor Swift. The 42-year-old, who “never, never, ever, ever, ever” saw herself becoming a CEO, says the secret to her success is taking things “one day at a time.” Fortune
- Adios, algorithm. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law on Friday designed to allow parents to opt their children out of receiving content suggested by a social media platform’s algorithm. Instead, a child would only see content from the accounts they follow. Fortune
- Suing for sterilization. Five women in Japan are suing the government to lift the country’s strict sterilization restrictions. Women in the country can only receive sterilization procedures if they’ve already had children, can prove that pregnancy is a threat to their health, and receive the consent of their spouse. New York Times
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Points of Light named Jennifer Hunter to its board of directors. Invariant hired Jenness Simler to lead the firm’s national security government relations practice.
ON MY RADAR
June Squibb made it Vulture
Aileen Cannon is who critics feared she was The Atlantic
Lack of child care is preventing small businesses from growing, survey finds The 19th
PARTING WORDS
“She’s my only idol. She’s my lighthouse.”
— Beijing resident Flora Supe on Maye Musk, the mother of Elon Musk and a wildly popular figure in China
