The Supreme Court’s extraordinary decision to eliminate the universal right to abortion is a watershed moment in the American experiment, ending half a century when people were free to make their own reproductive decisions and immediately ushering in an era when states can make that choice for them.
From a practical standpoint, the court’s decision is an earthquake, one that is already leading to the creation of a checkerboard legal system in which blue states continue allowing the procedure and red states apply new restrictions or outright bans.
Politically speaking, however, the battle going forward will look much the same as it’s been, pitting pro-choice liberals against anti-abortion conservatives in a cultural cage match to determine the fate and form of reproductive rights across the country.