Law Commons^™

Preimplantation Genetic Testing: A Fundamental Right, Julianna S. Swann

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Unlike many European countries of similar economic, social, scientific, and political advancement, there is virtually no regulation of preimplantation genetic testing in the United States. This Note will explore preimplantation genetic testing and demonstrate that potential parents in the United States have a right to conduct said testing under the umbrella of the fundamental right to privacy. This Note will demonstrate the need for the regulation for preimplantation genetic testing that will comply with the Undue Burden Test set out in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, while acknowledging and supporting the fundamental right of potential parents to conduct testing. This …

Abortion, Sterilization, And The Universe Of Reproductive Rights, Melissa Murray

William & Mary Law Review

In recent years, a new narrative associating reproductive rights with the eugenics movement of the 1920s has taken root. As this narrative maintains, in the 1920s, Margaret Sanger, a pioneer of the modern birth control movement, joined forces with the eugenics movement to market family planning measures to marginalized minority communities.

Although the history undergirding this narrative is incomplete and misleading, the narrative itself has flourished as the debate over the continued vitality of reproductive rights has unfolded in the United States. Indeed, in just the last three years, a member of the United States Supreme Court and a number …

Confronting Eugenics Means Finally Confronting Its Ableist Roots, Robyn M. Powell

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In September 2020, a whistleblower complaint was filed alleging that hysterectomies are being performed on women at an immigration detention center in alarmingly high rates. Regrettably, forced sterilizations are part of the nation’s long-standing history of weaponizing reproduction to subjugate socially marginalized communities. While public outrage in response to the whistleblower complaint was swift and relentless, it largely failed to acknowledge how eugenic ideologies and practices, including compulsory sterilizations, are ongoing and deeply entrenched in ableism. Indeed, a conversation that recognizes the ways in which eugenics continues to target people with disabilities is long overdue.

This Article contextualizes how eugenics …

Unduly Burdening Abortion Jurisprudence, Mark Strasser

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The undue burden standard is the current test to determine whether abortion regulations pass constitutional muster. But the function, meaning, and application of that test have varied over time, which undercuts the test’s usefulness and the ability of legislatures to know which regulations pass constitutional muster. Even more confusing, the Court has refused to apply the test in light of its express terms, which cannot fail to yield surprising conclusions and undercut confidence in the Court. The Court must not only clarify what the test means and how it is to be used, but must also formulate that test so …

The Impact Of Artificial Womb Technology On Abortion Jurisprudence, Julia Dalzell

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Chronic Harm, Ann Kennedy

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Some Form Of Punishment: Penalizing Women For Abortion, Mary Ziegler

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In 2016, Donald Trump ignited a political firestorm when he suggested that women should be punished for having abortions. Although he backtracked, Trump’s misstep launched a debate about whether women have been or should be punished for having abortions. At the same time, Trump’s comments revealed that punishing women has become far more than an abstraction. In 2016, Indiana resident Purvi Patel became just the most recent visible example when she was sentenced to twenty years for feticide and child neglect for inducing an abortion.

But in spite of the furor created by Trump’s comment and Patel’s conviction, the history …

Sex, Drugs, Trump And Birth Control, Desire’E Martinelli

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Article explores both medical and legal reasons as to why OTC access to contraception is needed and justified. It also applies current changes in the government and discusses how the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could substantially affect birth control. Alternative and traditional options are presented and analyzed to determine their viability.

Little Sisters’ Sorrow: Conversations About Contraception And Reproductive Justice, Katrina Roze Myers

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In light of recent political changes in the United States, the future of women’s health care has never been so uncertain. Using the debate on contraception access in the United States to frame the discussion, I demonstrate how religious groups and reproductive justice (RJ) activists might engage in constructive dialogue to protect women’s rights. I analyze the amicus briefs submitted on behalf of Catholic nuns and the government in Zubik v. Burwell, which illustrate that despite differences, RJ advocates and Catholic nuns have much in common—including a commitment to eradicate sex discrimination, ensure economic freedom, and protect women’s health. I …

Re-Evaluating The Criminalization Of In Utero Alcohol Exposure: A Harm-Reduction Approach, Adam J. Duso, John Stogner

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Project Prevention: Concept, Operation, Results And Controversies About Paying Drug Abusers To Obtain Long-Term Birth Control, Bruce A. Thyer

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article describes the origins and current operation of Project Prevention, a privately-funded program that provides a payment of $300 to substance abusers who obtain long-term birth control. This practice is intended as a means to prevent the conception of babies to mothers who are prone to expose their developing child to toxic levels of alcohol or other drugs during pregnancy, likely to be unable to care for their child once born, and at risk for having their child removed from their custody by the state and placed in foster care or an adoptive home. Children born to such mothers …

A Liberal Dilemma: Respecting Autonomy While Also Protecting Inchoate Children From Prenatal Substance Abuse, Andrew J. Weisberg, Frank E. Vandervort

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

A Travesty Of Justice: Revisiting Harris V. Mcrae, Jill E. Adams, Jessica Arons

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Right To (Trans) Parent: A Reproductive Justice Approach To Reproductive Rights, Fertility, And Family-Building Issues Facing Transgender People, Laura Nixon

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In focusing on fertility preservation and the whiff of eugenics in state statutes, this Article aims to make several contributions to issues at the intersection of the LGBT and reproductive health, rights, and justice movements. This Article will show how the reproductive health issues of transgender people remain shadowed in the mainstream LGBT movement and reproductive health and rights movement. This Article will use reproductive justice principles to provide new entry points for LGBT advocates and reproductive health and rights advocates to build alliances around gender, sexuality, and reproduction by highlighting opportunities for reproductive justice advocates to engage on reproductive …

Bad Medicine: Abortion And The Battle Over Who Speaks For Women's Health, Andrea D. Friedman

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Introduction: A Global Approach To Reproductive Justice—Psychosocial And Legal Aspects And Implications, Joan C. Chrisler

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Embryo Fundamentalism, June Carbone, Naomi Cahn

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Roe At Thirty-Six And Beyond: Enhancing Protection For Abortion Rights Through State Constitutions, Linda J. Wharton

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In a series of decisions over the past three decades, the Supreme Court has seriously undermined Roe v. Wade's promise of full and meaningful federal constitutional protection for women's access to abortion. While the new Obama administration will enhance protection for reproductive rights at the federal level, the reality remains that reconstituting the Supreme Court with a majority of Justices amenable to fully restoring Roe's strict protections will likely take many years. This Article considers whether state constitutions are a promising avenue for enhancing protection for abortion rights.

This Article looks back on thirty years of reproductive rights litigation under …

The Rise And Fall Of Women's Rights: Have Sexuality And Reproductive Freedom Forfeited Victory?, Lynne Marie Kohm, Colleen Holmes

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Truth About Women's Rights, Janet Benshoof

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In their article, The Rise and Fall of Women's Rights: Have Sexuality and Reproductive Freedom Forfeited Victory?, the authors Lynne Marie Kohm and Colleen Holmes launch a wide-ranging attack on women's reproductive freedoms and target not only myself but topics as diverse as gay and lesbian rights, the Vagina Monologues, and sexual freedom (without guilt or shame) for women.

This Essay is not meant to be a comprehensive response to the article. Rather, this Essay will counter Kohm's and Holmes's asserted premise-that fighting for reproductive freedoms has left feminists without the strength to fight for other rights. By doing so, …

Limitations On Family Size: Potential Pressures On The Rights Of Privacy And Procreation, Rodney A. Smolla

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.