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Abortion rights protesters gather at the U.S. Supreme Court to denounce the court's decision to end federal abortion rights protections in Washington on June 26.
Abortion rights protesters gather at the U.S. Supreme Court to denounce the court's decision to end federal abortion rights protections in Washington on June 26.

Is Pinkwashing the Future of Post-Roe America?

Global anti-abortion activists have waved off criticism by pointing to their support for LGBTQ rights. But U.S. conservatives may be too extreme for that tactic.

Analysis |
Omar G. Encarnación
An upside down U.S. flag is shown with the U.S. Supreme Court building in the background.
An upside down U.S. flag is shown with the U.S. Supreme Court building in the background.

America Is Losing Its Value Proposition

The future will not be pretty for the United States if it cannot rediscover some of the idealism that marked its long rise.

Argument |
Howard W. French
Ones and Tooze Override Photo
Ones and Tooze Override Photo

How Banning Abortion Affects the Economic Lives of Women

Plus: Why the economy today reminds us of the 1970s—and why it doesn’t.

Podcast
Pro-Choice demonstrators celebrate outside the Justice Palace in Bogota after the Constitutional Court voted in favor of decriminalizing abortion up to 24 weeks of gestation
Pro-Choice demonstrators celebrate outside the Justice Palace in Bogota after the Constitutional Court voted in favor of decriminalizing abortion up to 24 weeks of gestation

How Latin American Feminists Won Abortion Rights

Many argue abortion is not just an issue of individual choice but also of social justice.

Latin America Brief |
Catherine Osborn
Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett
Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett

Scholars Fear a More Nationalist Supreme Court Under Barrett

Trump’s most enduring legacy might be the long-term repudiation of international law.

Report |
Michael Hirsh
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is sworn in at her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Oct. 12 in Washington.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is sworn in at her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Oct. 12 in Washington.

Democrats Can’t Reverse the Damage of the Trump Era Overnight

Republican activists have spent decades building a movement, winning state and local elections, and grooming a generation of conservative judges. If the left wants to win and keep power, it must learn from the right’s successes.

Voice |
Sheri Berman
Mementos at a makeshift memorial for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on Sept. 19.
Mementos at a makeshift memorial for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on Sept. 19.

Trump’s Pick to Replace Ginsburg Could Make the Supreme Court ‘America First’

The late Ginsburg championed international law. Amy Coney Barrett has argued that what the world thinks is at best superfluous.

Voice |
Salvatore Babones
The flag-draped casket of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose at the top of the front steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC on Sept. 24.
The flag-draped casket of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose at the top of the front steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC on Sept. 24.

Can the United States’ Democratic Institutions Survive the 2020 Election Campaign?

Trampled institutional norms, a battle over the Supreme Court, and the possibility of Democratic retaliation could threaten the bedrock of American democracy.

It's Debatable |
Emma Ashford, Matthew Kroenig
Joseph Fons holding a gay pride flag in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington on June 15.
Joseph Fons holding a gay pride flag in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington on June 15.

The Real Reason the United States Lags on LGBTQ Rights

This week’s Supreme Court decision ends one legal battle, but reveals why the country’s record is so poor.

Argument |
Omar G. Encarnación
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu point to a map of the Jordan Valley as he gives a speech in Ramat Gan on Sept. 10, 2019.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu point to a map of the Jordan Valley as he gives a speech in Ramat Gan on Sept. 10, 2019.

A Netanyahu Victory Would Be Bad News for Peace and the Rule of Law

If he leads the next government, the prime minister is likely to annex much of the West Bank and deepen attacks on judicial independence.

Argument |
Dahlia Scheindlin
Romanian orphans in a Bucharest orphanage shortly after the December Revolution in 1989.
Romanian orphans in a Bucharest orphanage shortly after the December Revolution in 1989.

What Actually Happens When a Country Bans Abortion

Romania under Ceausescu created a dystopian horror of overcrowded, filthy orphanages, and thousands died from back-alley abortions.

Analysis |
Amy Mackinnon
Supporters of Kenya's opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) leader, Raila Odinga celebrate in the streets of Mathare slum in Nairobi on Sepetember 1, 2017. x Kenya's Supreme Court ordered a new presidential election after annulling the results of last month's poll in a shock decision in favour of the opposition. Joyous celebrations erupted outside the court and in Nairobi slums after the second term victory of President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared "invalid, null and void". / AFP PHOTO / TONY KARUMBA (Photo credit should read TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images)
Supporters of Kenya's opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) leader, Raila Odinga celebrate in the streets of Mathare slum in Nairobi on Sepetember 1, 2017. x Kenya's Supreme Court ordered a new presidential election after annulling the results of last month's poll in a shock decision in favour of the opposition. Joyous celebrations erupted outside the court and in Nairobi slums after the second term victory of President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared "invalid, null and void". / AFP PHOTO / TONY KARUMBA (Photo credit should read TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images)

In Unprecedented Reversal, Kenya’s Top Court Throws Out Election Result

International observers were quick to endorse the results of last month's presidential election. Now they're facing uncomfortable questions.

Dispatch |
Ty McCormick
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 14: Visitors walk outside the U.S. Supreme Court following the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia February 14, 2016 in Washington, DC. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was at a Texas Ranch Saturday morning when he died at the age of 79. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 14: Visitors walk outside the U.S. Supreme Court following the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia February 14, 2016 in Washington, DC. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was at a Texas Ranch Saturday morning when he died at the age of 79. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The Supreme Court Is Ignoring Trump as Much as Possible

The country’s highest court has a strategy for combatting the craziness in Washington: stop focusing on the President.

Lawfare |
Quinta Jurecic
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 31: A view of the Supreme Court at dusk, January 31, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump will announce his nominee for the Supreme Court on Tuesday night. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 31: A view of the Supreme Court at dusk, January 31, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump will announce his nominee for the Supreme Court on Tuesday night. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

This Is What It Looks Like When Courts Don’t Trust the Commander in Chief

Why Donald Trump has an unprecedentedly short legal leash on national security.

Argument |
Yishai Schwartz
TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump signs an executive order to start the Mexico border wall project at the Department of Homeland Security facility in Washington, DC, on January 25, 2017. / AFP / NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump signs an executive order to start the Mexico border wall project at the Department of Homeland Security facility in Washington, DC, on January 25, 2017. / AFP / NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump’s Travel Ban Will Need More Than Tweaks to Survive, Experts Say

But the administration may yet go to the mat to defend the original executive order.

The Cable |
Ruby Mellen
Judge Neil Gorsuch (C) and his wife Marie Louise look on, after US President Donald Trump nominated him for the Supreme Court, at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 31, 2017. Trump named Judge Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court nominee. / AFP / Brendan SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
Judge Neil Gorsuch (C) and his wife Marie Louise look on, after US President Donald Trump nominated him for the Supreme Court, at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 31, 2017. Trump named Judge Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court nominee. / AFP / Brendan SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump’s SCOTUS Pick Might Just Give Him Trouble in the Courts

Justice Neil Gorsuch is wary of executive action, and rarely believes in bending founding fathers’ interpretation of the constitution.

The Cable |
Ruby Mellen, Emily Tamkin
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (2nd R), Democrat of New York, US House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (C), speak alongside other members of Congress as demonstrators protest against US President Donald Trump and his administration's ban of travelers from 7 countries by Executive Order, during a rally outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on January 30, 2017. Trump's executive order suspended the arrival of all refugees for at least 120 days, Syrian refugees indefinitely -- and bars citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. Protests are taking place at airports across the country in opposition to the ban. / AFP / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (2nd R), Democrat of New York, US House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (C), speak alongside other members of Congress as demonstrators protest against US President Donald Trump and his administration's ban of travelers from 7 countries by Executive Order, during a rally outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on January 30, 2017. Trump's executive order suspended the arrival of all refugees for at least 120 days, Syrian refugees indefinitely -- and bars citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. Protests are taking place at airports across the country in opposition to the ban. / AFP / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Democrats Struggle To Appease Base Angry Over Trump Immigration Ban

Supreme Court rally underscores Democrats’ weak hand.

The Cable |
Ruby Mellen
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