October 20, 2025Open Access

In the wake of the Dobbs decision

Key Points

The interview explores the implications of the Dobbs decision on reproductive justice and activism, revealing ongoing challenges.
Key issues include access to abortion and maternal mortality rates, particularly for Black women, pointing to systemic inequalities.
Bridges and Foster highlight the importance of reframing health care to prioritize person-centered approaches in the face of despair.
Their forthcoming works address the intersection of race, gender, and health, aiming to inspire advocacy amidst challenging socio-political landscapes.

Abstract

Abstract In August 2025, the editors of American Ethnologist interviewed anthropologists Khiara M. Bridges and Angel M. Foster about reproductive justice, activism, and scholarship in the wake of the US Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022), which eliminated the federally protected right to abortion in the United States. Bridges and Foster both have forthcoming books that discuss reproductive rights and justice from different angles: Foster's book on mifepristone considers the terrain of access to abortion technology around the world, while Bridges's book examines the efforts of Black women to stay alive during pregnancy in the context of racial disparities in maternal mortality in the US. The interview ranged beyond abortion and maternity, covering the relationship between science and politics; the intersection of race, gender, and health; tactics for overcoming feelings of despair over the entrenchment of suffering in American ideologies of state and citizenship; and the implications of reframing health care as a person‐centered enterprise.

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