Khiara Bridges

When the justices heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the landmark abortion case, one word came up more than any other: viability. The viability line was at the core of Roe v. Wade, and it’s been entrenched in the abortion rights movement ever since. But no one seems to remember how this idea made its way into the abortion debate in the first place. This week on More Perfect, we trace it back to the source and discover how a clerk and a couple of judges turned a fuzzy medical concept into a hard legal line. Voices in the episode include: • George Frampton — former clerk to Justice Harry Blackmun • Judge Jon Newman — Second Circuit Court of Appeals • Khiara Bridges — UC Berkeley School of Law professor • Alex J. Harris — lawyer, former member of the Joshua Generation Learn more: • 1973: Roe v. Wade • 2022: Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization • Listen to Part 2: If Not Viability, Then What?   Correction: An earlier version of this episode stated that Justice Blackmun was the first to define pregnancy in terms of trimesters. Upon further review, he seems to have been the first to apply that framework to abortion law specifically, but it appeared in at least one medical text earlier, in 1904. We have updated the episode to address this error. Supreme Court archival audio comes from Oyez®, a free law project by Justia and the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School. Support for More Perfect is provided in part by The Smart Family Fund. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @moreperfectpodcast, and Twitter @moreperfect.

Khiara Bridges, a UC Berkeley law professor and expert on reproductive rights, breaks down the gripping case of Adriana Smith, a pregnant woman declared brain dead. The conversation dives into the ethical quagmire created by strict abortion laws and the implications of fetal personhood. Bridges highlights systemic biases in healthcare, especially affecting marginalized communities, and calls for addressing these injustices. The discussion also critiques how race impacts maternal health outcomes for Black women, illustrating the urgent need for reform.

Khiara Bridges, a law professor at UC Berkeley specializing in reproductive rights, dives deep into the potential legal landscape of abortion in the wake of a looming Supreme Court decision. She discusses the implications of state-level restrictions, the preparedness of pro-abortion rights groups, and the complexities surrounding presidential powers and religious exemptions. Bridges also sheds light on differing religious views on abortion, revealing how these beliefs intersect with legal rights, particularly for marginalized groups in a post-Roe America.