Democracy & Women’s Rights: Abortion, Political Representation & the 2024 Elections

Over 60 percent of Americans support abortion access, but last year constitutional abortion rights were overturned and many states now ban abortion in most circumstances. States with high levels of gerrymandering and voter suppression are the same states that have banned abortion and in other ways limit women’s rights—these states also have highly male-dominated legislatures. In this talk, Smith College Professor Carrie Baker will argue that democracy and women’s rights are intimately intertwined, that women’s rights and representation are a barometer of democracy, and the erosion of women’s rights is a canary in the coal mine of a dying democracy. Free and open to the public.