Speaking Honestly in a Post-Roe v. Wade America
The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade poured fresh fuel into the abortion debate in America. One thing that isn't hard to agree on is that reactions to Dobbs prove a concerning trend toward unwillingness or inability to have civil discourse on difficult questions. Americans rely on social media for news, which is a medium not designed for respectful dialogue. Even friends are attacking each other online. As civility gets buried, so does accurate information.
Since our founding in 2009, Common Sense Society has served as a forum for ideas. We want to foster well-reasoned and civil conversations on the biggest issues of our time, including abortion. Below, we have pulled together several thoughtful and different perspectives on the abortion debate as America begins a post-Roe future. We hope these pieces will help you to better understand the issue as you engage graciously with your neighbors and friends.
Have you come across any thoughtful articles or podcasts on post-Roe America? Share them with us in the comments!
Like many of you, we’ve been seeing a lot of conversations on social media about the right to life. Common Sense Society President and C.E.O. Marion Smith shares a very personal perspective in this Newsweek article.
The Atlantic staff writer Caitlin Flanagan also raises an important point to consider regarding the right to life:
This article prompts us to ask: are we valuing people and being both honest and merciful in the way we approach the complex—often heartbreaking—conversation of abortion?
Since the U.S. Constitution guarantees and protects specific rights, it is no surprise that this case has required many of us to dig back to our high school or college civics lessons. Dr. Roger Pilon, a Common Sense Society faculty member and chair of the CATO Institute’s B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies, offered his opinion in this piece from 2005 for The Wall Street Journal, but his arguments are just as relevant.
Constitutional right to life or not, the uncomfortable reality is that many pregnancies are unintended and unwanted. Is abortion simply a response to heartbreaking examples of neonaticide and abandonment? How can we better support those who are faced with unwanted pregnancies? Common Sense Society faculty member Katharine Birbalsingh brought up this piece by Rob Brook in Quillette that has us thinking…
What can we learn from other societies’ lived experience? Is intergenerational distrust a contributing factor for women who are considering abortion in America? Katya Sedgwick offers her thoughts.
It’s painfully clear that abortion has become politicized. How have both political parties failed in their words and actions? How do we as a nation become something better post-Roe? A past Common Sense Society speaker, Peggy Noonan, addresses these questions in her recent piece in The Wall Street Journal.
Thoughtful debate is not a dismissal of strong beliefs—it's an opportunity to test their validity. But we would do well to remember that people matter. Our ideas and the way we express them matter. Tolerance, as described below by Common Sense Society President and C.E.O. Marion Smith, is crucial for the sake of our relationships, education, and growth as a society.
