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
- reproductive rights
- abortion
- legal battles
- Supreme Court
- free speech
- voting rights
- government bullying
Keywords
- abortion pill
- telehealth
- Supreme Court
- reproductive rights
- free speech
- voting rights
- legal analysis
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Balls and Strikes, NARAL, Media Matters, FTC
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