Law Commons^™

Jane Crow Constitutionalism, Evan D. Bernick

College of Law Faculty Publications

On June 24, 2022 The United States Supreme Court issued its decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization; overturning Roe v. Wade, and destroying fifty years of precedent to protect the constitutional right to abortion in the United States. This overturning sets a dangerous, new precedent that reinforces the State’s control of reproduction, and criminalizes a woman’s right to choose, with very few exceptions. In states like Mississippi, Black women are already experiencing the highest rates of maternal mortality, incarceration, and poverty.

This article posits that Dobbs operates to maintain a racialized and gendered underclass, and names this phenomenon …

Sanctuary Cities And Counties For The Unborn: The Use Of Resolution And Ordinances To Restrict Abortion Access, Jennifer L. Brinkley

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Santa Rosa County in Florida is the first county in Florida to be designated as a pro-life sanctuary. Florida joins other states--including Illinois, New Mexico, Texas, North Carolina, and Utah--in passing resolutions and ordinances declaring localities as sanctuaries for the unborn. Some localities declare life begins at conception, ban abortion services (including access to emergency contraception), classify abortion as murder with malice aforethought, label pro-choice organizations as criminal enterprises, and create civil causes of action against abortion providers and those who assist women in obtaining an abortion. Most of the localities that have enacted the ordinances and resolutions have small …

What's Good For The Goose Is Good For The Gander: Toward Recognition Of Men's Reproductive Rights, Mary A. Totz

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Over the past few decades, gender equality has slowly made its way into many areas of family law where women were once the favored sex. Despite the trend toward treating men and women equally, women continue to have the unilateral right to decide whether a conception, which was jointly formed, will result in parenthood. From the time a pregnancy commences until a fetus is either born or aborted, courts have held that a man has no right to decide whether or not he will become a parent. This comment examines recent changes in society and the law which, in appropriate …