Event: What’s the Harm? Understanding Reproductive Justice
NYU School of Law, October 30, 2015
Please join us on October 30, 2015 at 9:00am at NYU School of Law for What’s the Harm?: Understanding Reproductive Injustice. This event is open to the public, but registration is required. Please share this invitation.
The Overview:
This day-long symposium will explore overly restrictive reproductive healthcare laws, and reframe the “harm” of these laws by looking at women’s experience with pregnancy, birthing, abortion, access to healthcare, and the criminal justice system. We will look at how these laws impact the practice of medicine, the doctor-patient relationship, and patient choice and dignity. For example, pregnant women who chose to carry to term are increasingly facing criminal charges or allegations of neglect and abuse in the name of protecting fetal life. Women’s decision-making during childbirth is also subject to oversight, and unnecessary or unwanted medical interventions are not uncommon. We will address these trends while interrogating the role of scientific and medical expertise in legislatures and courts. We will also explore how recent abortion jurisprudence may have wider implications for constitutional law, impacting questions of state interest, pretext, and precedent.
Highlights:
- Stephanie Toti will speak about our Texas SCOTUS case on the premier panel “Harm to the Law.”
- Libertarian Prof. Richard Epstein and Prof. Neil Siegel will also chime in about Cole.
- Diana will introduce a Nuestra Texas Video Presentation, articulating the link between our SCOTUS abortion case and other repro healthcare access issues.
- Dr. Willie Parker is giving closing remarks.
- Moderators Kenji Yoshino, Carol Gilligan and Sylvia Law.
- Offering 6 continuing legal education (CLE) credits.
Agenda and Panels: “What’s the Harm” will explore overly restrictive reproductive healthcare laws, and reframe the harm of these laws by looking at women’s experience with pregnancy, birthing, abortion, access to healthcare, and the criminal justice system.
1. Harm to the Law – This panel will interrogate how some courts’ tolerance for overly restrictive abortion laws threaten to undermine other Constitutional principles including speech, liberty, and precedent. We will also look at the purported state interests behind these laws restricting abortion access, a theme carried over from our spring 2014 symposium at Case Western School of Law.
2. Harm to Pregnancy and Childbirth – This panel will discuss emerging issues regarding pregnant women’s experience with healthcare and child birth, including the question of how the pregnant woman’s autonomy and medical decision-making can be respected and protected during the birthing process. A potential right to procreation will be discussed.
3. Harm to Women – We’ll wrap up the day exploring the impact of restrictive legislation on women’s lives. Panelists including Dr. David Grimes and Sarah Roberts, Public Health Social Scientist at ANSIR, will share research and personal experiences about the physical, economic, and dignitary harms caused by TRAP laws. Former CRR-CLS Fellow Khiara Bridges will speak.
Program: The full program, including participant bio’s, is available to download here.
Audience: This event will be open to the public. We expect attendees to include local faculty, staff from allied reproductive rights/justice organizations, community members, and students.
CLE Credit is Available: This event is appropriate for both experienced and newly admitted attorneys. Offering 6 continuing legal education (CLE) credits.
Register Here: http://bit.ly/1hTTXtS
