Earlier this week, a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court suggested that after nearly 50 years, the court intends to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

Almost as soon as abortions became legal, opponents began organizing efforts to repeal the law. Eighteen states now have so-called "trigger laws" that will ban abortions the moment that Roe v. Wade is overturned or pre-"Roe" era bans that remain on the books, ready once again, to fall into place.

We'll look back at the longstanding efforts by legal, political and religious groups - on both sides of the debate - that have led to this moment. And we'll discuss what comes next.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Audio in the podcast from Supreme Court arguments of Roe v. Wade was obtained from Oyez.org multimedia archive.

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The Road To Overturning Roe v. Wade

Consider This from NPR

The Road To Overturning Roe v. Wade