Pocket worthyStories to fuel your mind

A Year Without Roe: Charting the Impact on America

The landmark decision has dramatically changed the landscape of abortion access in the U.S. Our reading list explores the scope of that change—and what we can expect ahead.

Pocket Editors

Read when you’ve got time to spare.

This weekend marks the first anniversary of the Supreme Court reversing Roe v. Wade, overturning the constitutional right to abortion. In the year since the landmark decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, access to abortion in the U.S. has dramatically decreased. Most abortions are banned in 14 states, and 25 million women of childbearing age live in states where it is harder to get an abortion than before Roe was overturned. Pregnant people living in states where abortion is illegal now must travel long distances to access care, if they have the financial resources to do so.

Read on to learn who has been impacted, where the public stands on the issue, and what’s next for abortion access in the U.S.

Image by Kevin Dietsch/Staff/Getty Images

‘I Underestimated the Depth of Outrage’

Thinkers from across the political spectrum reckon with the dramatic and unpredictable ways the country has already changed since the historic Supreme Court decision.

How a Year Without Roe Shifted American Views on Abortion

For decades, Americans had settled around an uneasy truce on abortion. Even if most people weren’t happy with the status quo, public opinion about the legality and morality of abortion remained relatively static.

What’s an Ex–Abortion Doctor in Alabama to Do?

Fight for better pregnancies and births for those who have no choice.

Her Baby Has a Deadly Diagnosis. Her Florida Doctors Refused an Abortion.

Halfway through the pregnancy, a routine ultrasound revealed the fetus had devastating abnormalities, pitching the couple into the uncharted landscape of Florida’s new abortion law.

One Year Without Roe

The overturning of Roe v. Wade has unleashed immense harm and suffering across the nation in the past year.

It Was a Secret Road Map for Breaking the Law To Get an Abortion. Now, ‘The List’ and Its Tactics Are Resurfacing.

Karen was determined to end her pregnancy. A fifth-grade teacher with red hair and an allergy to birth-control pills, she had been practicing the rhythm method of contraception with her boyfriend, Erwin, who had studied to be a dentist.

Yes, They Are Coming for Your Birth Control

It was after 4 P.M. on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, when assistant professor Johanna Gosse received an email with the subject line “Guidance on Abortion Laws.