Reproductive Rights and the Dynamics of Litigation in the Midst of Constitutional Change

Catalog description

When the US Supreme Court overruled 50 years of federal constitutional protection for abortion rights in its 2022 Dobbs ruling, the legal strategies to protect abortion rights changed dramatically. This course will explore the landscape in state and federal courts of lawsuits post-Dobbs that are rebuilding those legal rights and fighting to maintain access in a variety of circumstances, including in both protective and restrictive States and in marginalized communities of color and the socioeconomically disadvantaged. We will begin with analysis of the doctrinal evolution of the federal constitutional right, and the post-Dobbs shift to protections for abortion under new state constitutional amendments and preexisting state precedent, along with related protections such as the right to interstate travel. We will look at the range of stakeholders critical to litigation to protect abortion access and consider some of the practicalities of the lawsuits in which they are involved, including pregnant individuals, abortion care providers, clinics, emergency rooms, reproductive justice organizations, other public interest organizations, and manufacturers and suppliers of abortion medication. We will analyze litigation strategy concerns common to social justice movements, weighing long-term goals and short-term needs. The role of the federal and state governments will also be examined. We will study the government tools that are used both to protect and to undermine abortion rights through statutory developments, regulatory change, and criminal law. Students will write three short papers on selected topics. Elements used in grading: Attendance, class participation, written assignments.