I hope you’ll check out this conversation I had with Karen Middleton about the state of abortion access and reproductive freedom in the wake of the 2022 Dobbs decision. Middleton is the president of Cobalt, a Colorado organization that seeks to protect and advance abortion rights. She’s also a former Colorado state legislator.
One of the more fascinating things to me was that the annual number of abortions in the U.S. has likely increased post-Dobbs. Part of that, Middleton says, is due to increased awareness of options across state lines, and certainly part of it is due to organizations like Cobalt that seek to put pregnant women in touch with providers. Through this kind of work, Colorado has become a place where women from other nearby states — especially Texas — can find options. Indeed, as Middleton says, “We are now a mini travel agency.”
Middleton also pushes back somewhat at Democratic politicians who seek to “restore” or “codify” Roe v. Wade. As she argues, Roe was a roughly compromise position to begin with, and those advocating for abortion rights should do so unapologetically and forcefully. The goal, she says, is national legislation that firmly establishes and protects abortion access.
I hope you’ll get as much out of this conversation as I did.
