Discussing Dobbs With an Abortion Rights Champion of the ’70s

<p>A little over 50 years ago, Nancy Stearns, a young lawyer, was presenting a case in New York with a bold legal assertion: that the right to abortion was fundamental to equal rights for women.</p><p>She never got to conclude her argument — first New York changed the law, then came Roe v. Wade. Now, with Roe overturned, she describes how it feels to watch the right to terminate a pregnancy fall away.</p><p>Guest: Nancy Stearns, a lawyer who used an argument of equal rights to challenge the constitutionality of abortion bans.</p><p>Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>The United States almost took<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/20/magazine/roe-v-wade-abortion-rights.html"> a different path toward abortion rights</a>. Abramowicz v. Lefkowitz was the first case in the country to challenge a state’s strict abortion law on behalf of women.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>