The Lawyer Who Defended Abortion Rights at SCOTUS Explains What It Was Like
Slate interviewed Julie Rikelman, Senior Director of U.S. Litigation for the Center, after she argued Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization before the Supreme Court on December 1. The case challenges the core holding of Roe v. Wade: that women have a right to terminate their pregnancy up to the point of viability.
Rikelman has previously argued–and won–an abortion rights case before the Court in June Medical Services v. Russo. When asked about the difference between the two cases, Rikelman said Dobbs was different because it was “..about whether Roe should be overturned…The stakes were higher, but it was just much more about first principles and whether people think that women should have liberty and equality under the Constitution.”
Rikelman explained that centering women in her argument and bringing their voices to the courtroom were “absolutely one of my biggest goals.”
Slate’s interview with Rikelman touched on the importance of women having the right to control their bodies, the role of science in a case about medical care, and what Rikelman’s daughter thought of her arguments.
