The waiting room at the Women's Health Center of West Virginia in Charleston, W.Va., in February.
Chris Jackson / AP
As the Supreme Court prepared to issue its decision overturning Roe v. Wade, NPR spent weeks speaking to experts and activists about what will likely happen next. Here’s some suggested reading.
What will this mean for health care and access to services?
Kristyn Brandi, an OB-GYN and family planning doctor who is also the board chair for Physicians for Reproductive Health, and NPR health policy correspondent Selena Simmons-Duffin answered some of your most common questions here.
Here are insights from two reproductive health care providers about the options available to pregnant people in anti-abortion states, and how to find a safe clinic.
Medical and legal experts say the decision could have implications for other types of care, including birth control and fertility treatments. Plus, read up on how medication abortion works and what the end of Roe could mean for it.
And it's important to remember that this decision doesn't just affect cisgender women.
What about possible legal implications?
Dozens of states already passed trigger laws that could end access to legal abortions for many Americans. Here's what enforcement could look like. Also, the removal of federal abortion protections could spark new legal fights between states.
Liberal politicians and activists have publicly speculated that other landmark Supreme Court rulings, like those legalizing same-sex marriage and birth control, could be on shaky ground. Since the release of the draft ruling Democrats have sought to make the abortion debate about more than just abortion, hoping to jolt voters into action as the November midterms approach.
What will daily life look like?
As NPR's Joe Hernandez has reported, here's what a future without Roe could mean:
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