"This is the hill I will die on"

Also: Trying to be the mother I always wanted [View in browser](    [❤️]( May 8, 2022 Dear Cog reader, I was out to dinner Monday night when the news of a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion pinged my phone. Between incoming texts and emails and tweets, it didn’t stop buzzing for several hours. As you have surely heard by now, Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion, which reportedly has the support of four other conservative justices, would overturn Roe v Wade, the 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to access a legal abortion. When Roe falls, abortion will be severely restricted — and in some cases outlawed entirely — in [around 26 states](. Abortion is an emotional, visceral issue — one of the biggest fault lines in American politics. We were curious to know how people were feeling, so we asked our readers to share their stories. Their responses reflected the majority sentiment in the country: as many as 70% of Americans don’t want to see Roe overturned. “It sends a chill through my body thinking about it and fills me with rage,” wrote Hannah S. of Somerville. “How is it that we are fighting the same battles for reproductive rights that we were fighting prior to 1973?” asked Jennifer S. of Templeton. You can read our full [round up of responses]( here. Jesse Mermell, a long-time reproductive rights advocate, also weighed in this week: “The end of Roe will not be the end of abortions for people in states with bans. Rather, it will mean the end of safe abortions," she [writes](. We expect to have more essays about abortion rights in the weeks and months to come. This first full weekend of May also brings Mother’s Day. Whether you are marking the day, or letting it pass you by, we have two pieces that avoid any saccharine Hallmark treatment. First up is Anita Hannig, a cultural anthropologist at Brandeis University who studies death. She can’t help but see the [profound connection between beginnings and endings](. Second, Alysia Abbott writes about [parenting her teenage daughter]( — and wonders if she’ll ever stop longing to be the mother she never had. Thank you for reading. Cloe Axelson Editor, Cognoscenti [Follow]( Support the news   Must Reads [Opinion | 'This is the hill I will die on': WBUR readers react to a potential ban on abortion]( Abortion is one of the biggest fault lines in American politics. This week, a leaked version of a Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade set off a political earthquake. We asked readers to respond to the news. Here are their reflections. [Read more.]( [Opinion | 'This is the hill I will die on': WBUR readers react to a potential ban on abortion]( Abortion is one of the biggest fault lines in American politics. This week, a leaked version of a Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade set off a political earthquake. We asked readers to respond to the news. Here are their reflections. [Read more.]( [On my first Mother's Day, I'm honoring the profound link between birth and death]( As a cultural anthropologist, Anita Hannig has spent a lot of time thinking about death. It’s easy to think of birth and death as opposites, but they are actually very similar, she writes. They are both sacred transitions from one state of being to another. [Read more.]( [On my first Mother's Day, I'm honoring the profound link between birth and death]( As a cultural anthropologist, Anita Hannig has spent a lot of time thinking about death. It’s easy to think of birth and death as opposites, but they are actually very similar, she writes. They are both sacred transitions from one state of being to another. [Read more.]( [I'm longing to be the mother I never had]( Alysia Abbott asks: are we mistaken to believe our kids continue to be ours as they grow? [Read more.]( [I'm longing to be the mother I never had]( Alysia Abbott asks: are we mistaken to believe our kids continue to be ours as they grow? [Read more.]( [The end of abortion rights is just the beginning]( Brace yourself, the worst is yet to come, writes Jesse Mermell. Justice Alito's leaked draft highlights other rights conservatives are targeting, including marriage equality and birth control. [Read more.]( [The end of abortion rights is just the beginning]( Brace yourself, the worst is yet to come, writes Jesse Mermell. Justice Alito's leaked draft highlights other rights conservatives are targeting, including marriage equality and birth control. [Read more.]( [Russia is repeating its brutal history in Ukraine]( There are striking analogies between the way the USSR’s Red Army operated during World War II and the way the Russian Army is currently operating against Ukraine, writes Mark Kramer. [Read more.]( [Russia is repeating its brutal history in Ukraine]( There are striking analogies between the way the USSR’s Red Army operated during World War II and the way the Russian Army is currently operating against Ukraine, writes Mark Kramer. [Read more.]( What We're Reading "Within a matter of months, women in about half of the United States may be breaking the law if they decide to end a pregnancy. This will be, in large part, because Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is surprised that there is so little written about abortion in a four-thousand-word document crafted by fifty-five men in 1787." "[Of course the constitution has nothing to say about abortion]( The New Yorker "Already, the United States claims the highest rate of maternal and infant mortality among wealthy nations. Should the court overturn Roe v. Wade, these grim statistics will only get worse." "[The US Supreme Court is wrong to disregard evidence on the harm of banning abortion]( Nature. "The types of immunity more relevant to the current pandemic era blunt the frequency and severity of future waves, rather than obliterate them." "[America Is Starting to See What COVID Immunity Really Looks Like]( The Atlantic. "I never thought I would be here after losing everything. " — Anita Hannig, "[On my first Mother's Day, I'm honoring the profound link between birth and death]( ICYMI ['All the Secrets of the World': 5 questions with Steve Almond]( I spent decades beating myself up for not being able to produce a novel, writes Steve Almond. But the truth is, I didn’t have a story worth sharing with the world. Now, with "All the Secrets of the World," I do. [Read more.]( ['All the Secrets of the World': 5 questions with Steve Almond]( I spent decades beating myself up for not being able to produce a novel, writes Steve Almond. But the truth is, I didn’t have a story worth sharing with the world. Now, with "All the Secrets of the World," I do. [Read more.]( If you’d like to write for Cognoscenti, send your submission, pasted into your email and not as an attachment, to opinion@wbur.org. Please tell us in one line what the piece is about, and please tell us in one line who you are. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news     Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. 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