>>127672601 (OP)
>>127677888
>>127679199
Dobbs "won" the constitutional fight but created a strategic mess:
>Backlash machine: Since Dobbs, abortion has over-performed for pro-choice forces at the ballot box (state referenda, purple-suburb races). It turned a low-salience issue into a turnout engine against Republicans.
>Policy patchwork, not victory: Instead of a clear national settlement, you get 50 different regimes, constant injunctions, and confusing exceptions. That's hard to message and brutal to administer.
>Medical/brand blowback: OB-GYNs and hospital systems are skittish; some doctors leave ban states; corporate America mostly won't "own" enforcement. It makes red states look hostile to care and talent.
>Workarounds blunt the ban: Telehealth, shield-state laws, travel funding, and pills (mife + miso; even miso-only) keep early abortions widely accessible. The intended supply-side choke isn't airtight.
>Legal terrain didn't fully flip: The Supreme Court later left mifepristone access intact on standing grounds, and EMTALA fights muddied emergency-care bans. So the most scalable restriction (pill access) didn't get the green light they needed.
>GOP wedge, not glue: Activists want 0 weeks; swing voters prefer ~15+ weeks with exceptions. Candidates get trapped between base purity tests and general-election viability.
All that said, it wasn't "nothing": in ban states, real women face delays, travel, and risk—so the human cost is very real. But if you're judging on movement outcomes (durable policy + broad consent), Dobbs delivered a courtroom win that triggered political losses, messy governance, and leaky enforcement.
