Over the past two years, since the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion, the country has been embroiled in a fierce battle over women’s health, government access, personal choice and efforts to ban or guarantee the procedure.
In the midst of that struggle stands Mary Ziegler: interpreter, guide, prophet.
Whenever a law is passed, Decision given by the courtWhen a medical horror story surfaces — which doesn’t happen often — Ziegler is always asked to comment from her post at UC Davis. She has given up to 15 interviews in one day.
His ubiquitous presence, Ziegler’s frequent written commentaries and his six books, with a seventh forthcoming, have made the 42-year-old law school professor, in his estimation, a pretty big name. Historian David GarrowHighest officials of last 50 years The Abortion War.
“One of the hallmarks of Ziegler’s scholarship is her access to activists and litigants on both sides,” he said in a laudatory review of her book in 2021.
That’s why he’s a trusted and valuable source, on the speed-dial of countless reporters across the country.
Ziegler, who will come to Davis via Florida State University in 2022, didn’t set out to be a one-stop clearinghouse for the history, commentary and mysteries of abortion. Her curiosity led her there.
She developed an interest in it as a student at Harvard Law School in the mid-2000s.
Ziegler, a so-called “legal history buff,” found there was a lack of scholarly research on the social and political repercussions of Roe v. Wade. 1973 decision Informed about the constitutional right to abortion, she began diving into digital newspaper archives to learn more about the subject, and began writing prolifically on the topic.
“At first, I didn’t think I’d be able to do anything professionally,” Ziegler said over lunch at this bayfront home last week. “My interest was just out of pure curiosity.”
“His scholarship obviously wasn’t that important at the time,” he said, laughing. As relevant as it turned out It will happen later.”
(Ziegler’s father, a French professor, urged her to pursue a career that was practical and reasonably well-paid. She considered going into medicine, but she didn’t like the sight of blood. So she studied law.)
Ziegler, who published her first book-length account of the abortion issue in 2015, did not expect the overturning of the Roe decision, which helped turn her into a quasi-legal and media celebrity. While opponents continually sought to undermine the landmark decision, many considered the case to be “settled law” — which is how it has been Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh describes Roe Facing Senate confirmation in 2018, Kavanaugh noted that he was part of the 5-4 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson. Almost half a century old decision overturned,
The day the court issued this ruling, Ziegler immersed herself completely in her work and began writing and gave numerous interviews in a row. When her work was finished, she broke down and started crying.
Ziegler, an avowed feminist and supporter of legal abortion, said this wasn’t just a violation of a constitutional right.
“I remember reading Dobbs and I thought that somehow it would get better and people would stop fighting. I remember thinking that’s not going to happen at all,” she said. “I thought about all the unintended consequences of this” such as denial of urgent medical care — even Matters unrelated to abortion,
“That doesn’t mean I condone those who believe abortion is wrong. But, to me, criminalizing it and everything that goes with it has always been a dark part of American history. I saw it as leading us to more conflict, not less.”
Which has been proven to be completely true.
Ziegler sees the next several years as a tug-of-war between conservative judges, anti-abortion lawmakers and the majority of Americans who broadly want to keep abortion legal and accessible.
(Bill Lax / UC Davis)
In Recent article on Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalaki And regarding his gubernatorial ambitions, your friendly columnist had the audacity to suggest that abortion rights Solid as a rock in Californiawith its constitutional guarantees and Democrats’ hegemonic control of Sacramento.
Ziegler doesn’t necessarily agree.
“I don’t think Congress is going to do anything,” he said. A serious political response. “I’m less sure about (former President) Trump.”
He said Trump could unilaterally violate the Constitution if he is elected president in November. The Comstock Act, an anti-dust law of 1873 Which could serve as an effective ban on abortion across the country. Though he didn’t make any predictions, Ziegler didn’t rule out the possibility. In Trump’s case, you never know.
“I don’t think it’s a crisis,” he said. “I think it’s overblown. But I also think total complacency … is wrong, too.”
“On the one hand,” he said, “it won’t be popular if he does it. On the other hand, I don’t know what incentive he’ll have if he can’t run for re-election. Maybe his donors will like it. Maybe the core voters who buy his stuff will like it.”
A pale sun shone over San Francisco Bay as tourists strolled along the waterfront promenade. Politics and the abortion debate seemed far away for the time being.
Ziegler sees the next several years as a push-pull between conservative judges, anti-abortion lawmakers and the majority of Americans who largely want abortion. Keep abortion legal and accessible,
“I think it depends on who’s making the decision, and I don’t mean in a ‘it’s my body, my choice’ way,” Ziegler said. “What we’ve seen to date is that, in the vast majority of cases, when you ask voters directly, they want abortion to be broadly legal, especially early in pregnancy and later in pregnancy as well … but I think there are a lot of possibilities where that’s not the case.”
With that, she packed up her remaining food and headed home to continue to educate and explore more about the issue of abortion in America.
