While the Dobbs decision returned abortion rights to the states, that was never the end goal, says legal historian Mary Ziegler. In her new book, “Personhood: The New Civil War over Reproduction,” she traces the roots of the fetal personhood movement back to the 1960s. If fetal personhood is recognized under law, it would grant constitutional rights to embryos—bypassing voters, ballot initiatives, and even state constitutional protections. It remains to be seen if the Trump administration embraces the concept– which would eliminate democratic input on a deeply unpopular issue. Critics warn that Trump’s symbolic gestures—like an anti-trans order that used coded fetal personhood language—are a troubling sign. “This is not a new fight—this has been the fight. There is no daylight between the fetal personhood movement and the anti-abortion movement—they are one and the same."

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