The Overturning of Roe v. Wade and American Archaeology

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Join Chelsi, Emily, and Kirsten as they discuss the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on American archaeology. The episode covers the history of abortion and contraception, why both became illegal in the U.S. in the 19th century (related, of course, to women’s suffrage movements), and how the decision will affect female and LGBTQ+ archaeologists today. This episode was recorded shortly after the decision, and not all state and local effects had yet taken place; apologies if it seems we’ve omitted anything.

Show Notes

A summary of the implications this overturning was estimated to have upon the announcement of the decision by Patty Hausman of American University: https://www.american.edu/cas/news/roe-v-wade-overturned-what-it-means-whats-next.cfm.

If you are fluent in legalese and/or would like to look at the original court publication, you can find it here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf.

Links on the discussion of abortion history include this BBC article, a fantastic “opinion” in Scientific American run in 2020, and another article that lays out the basics of legal precedent regarding abortions in the U.S. by The Guardian.

A historic-era archaeological site is reviewed by the fantastic Kristina Killgrove in Forbes back in 2018.

Lastly, a more theoretical perspective of History in U.S. law and Supreme Court decisions in The Washington Post.