DOBBS V. JACKSON, A YEAR LATER. ABORTION AND RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Dobbs v. Jackson has ended a judicial series of cases on abortion that began in 1973 with Roe v. Wade. Dobbs holds that abortion is not a constitutional right and shifts the legal debate over abortion to the laws and courts of each of the states of the Union. A year after Dobbs this article analyzes the judicial cycle through some of its major milestones and factors. It is clear from these milestones and factors that even when a judicial episode has been closed, the legal and social debate remains open. The religious factor plays a role in all that has happened; this article evaluates that role, avoiding the easy stigmatization or instrumentalization of religion and analyzing some implications of Dobbs in the regime of religious freedom and conscientious objection.