Return of the Abortion Pill Wars

Return of the Abortion Pill Wars

From Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts by Slate Podcasts

May 16, 2026 · 1h 7m

About this episode

The episode discusses recent legal battles over reproductive rights, focusing on medication abortion and its implications for voting rights and free speech.

This week on Amicus, hosts Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern break down a whirlwind stretch of reproductive rights legal battles, from the Fifth Circuit's sweeping nationwide ban on telehealth medication abortion, to the Supreme Court's emergency order blocking it. Madiba Dennie (Deputy Editor, Balls and Strikes; and author of The Originalism Trap) joins to explain what the furious dissents from Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito reveal about where this is all headed. Then, Dahlia sits down with writer, activist, and former NARAL president Ilyse Hogue for a wide-ranging conversation about why the assault on medication abortion and the assault on voting rights are the same fight — and why progressives keep losing the narrative battle even when public opinion and shared values are on their side. They also discuss an overlooked but hugely significant win for free speech in the Media Matters v. FTC case, and why fighting back against government bullying matters more than ever. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe…

People in this episode

Hosts: Dahlia Lithwick, Mark Joseph Stern

Guests: Madiba Dennie, Ilyse Hogue

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Balls and Strikes, NARAL, Media Matters, FTC

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