Abortion in the U.S. After Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization: a Comparative Perspective

The essay aims to provide a critical insight into the legal status of abortion and reproductive rights in the U.S. before and after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022). In this decision, the U.S. Supreme Court famously found that the U.S. constitution does not protect the right to choose to terminate pregnancy and affirmed that abortion is to be regulated by state legislators. In the face of the patchwork of laws governing abortion in the United States, the essay intends to explore the long-lasting impacts of Dobbs by conducting a comparative analysis. We argue that, contrary to the expectations of the Court, Dobbs has not distanced abortion from judicial power and that even lacking a constitutional right to abortion, the interplay between legislators and courts is critical in securing women’s reproductive rights nationwide.