Law and Gender Commons^™

The Scarlet Letter: The Supreme Court And The Language Of Abortion Stigma, Paula Abrams

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Why does the Supreme Court refer to the woman who is seeking an abortion as "mother"? Surely the definition has not escaped the attention of a Court that frequently relies on the dictionary to define important terms or principles. And why does the Court choose to describe the fetus as a child? What message does this language send about abortion and the woman who seeks an abortion? The Court's abortion decisions embody an ongoing debate on the legitimacy of constitutional protection of the right to choose. This debate unfolds most obviously as a discourse on constitutional interpretation; disagreements within the …

Baring Inequality: Revisiting The Legalization Debate Through The Lens Of Strippers' Rights, Sheerine Alemzadeh

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

The debate over legalization of prostitution has fractured the feminist legal community for over a quarter century. Pro-legalization advocates promote the benefits attending government regulation of prostitution, including the ability to better prosecute sex crimes, increase public health and educational resources for individuals in the commercial sex trade, and apply labor and safety regulations to the commercial sex industry in the same manner as they are applied to other businesses. Some anti-legalization advocates identify themselves as "new abolitionists," and argue that government recognition of prostitution reinforces gender inequality. Often, this debate is framed in the hypothetical: What would happen if …

"Off With His __": Analyzing The Sex Disparity In Chemical Castration Sentences, Zachary Edmonds Oswald

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Societies around the world have performed castration, in its various forms, on their male and female members for thousands of years, for numerous reasons. Even within the United States, prisoners have been sentenced to castration (as a form of punishment or crime prevention) since the early twentieth century. In recent years, legislatures have perpetuated this practice but with a modern twist. Now, states use chemical injections to castrate their inmates. It turns out, however, that systemic problems plague the chemical castration sentencing regime. These problems arise from the nature of the crimes eligible for chemical castration sentences, the manner of …

The Role Of Networks, Mentors, And The Law In Overcoming Barriers To Organizational Leadership For Women With Children, Terry Morehead Dworkin, Aarti Ramaswami, Cindy A. Schipani

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

The 2012 election brought headlines such as "Another 'Year of Women' in Congress." Although the number of women in the highest legislative offices increased, their numbers are still significantly lower than those of men. Fewer than 100 women hold office in both houses of Congress. Corporate America similarly reflects significantly low female leadership numbers. For example, "fewer than 20% of finance industry directors and executives are women, and [there are] no women leading the 20 biggest U.S. banks and securities firms." Women make up nearly half the workforce and hold 60% of bachelor degrees, yet they hold only 14% of …

Beyond Seduction: Lessons Learned About Rape, Politics, And Power From Dominique Strauss-Kahn And Moshe Katsav, Hannah Brenner

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

n the last decade, two influential international political figures, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund, and Moshe Katsav, former President of Israel, were accused of engaging in extreme and ongoing patterns of sexual violence. The collection of formal charges against the two men included rape, forcible indecent assault, sexual harassment, and obstruction of justice. The respective narratives surrounding the allegations against Katsav and Strauss-Kahn have their own individual characteristics, and each of the cases unfolded in diverging ways. Yet, the actions of these two men taken together, and the corresponding response of the legal systems in France, …

The North Carolina Woman’S Right To Know Act: An Unconstitutional Infringement On A Physician’S First Amendment Right To Free Speech, Ryan Bakelaar

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

The North Carolina Woman’s Right to Know Act represents the crossroads of the Supreme Court’s First Amendment, informed consent, and abortion-related jurisprudence. The Act requires physicians to perform an obstetric ultrasound, verbally convey specific information regarding ultrasonographic findings, and communicate a host of other information to patients seeking abortions. The purported goal of the Act is to ensure that physicians obtain appropriate informed consent from such patients. By compelling a physician to convey this information, the State violates the physician’s First Amendment rights. Indeed, the State may not compel an individual to convey the State’s ideological message. Further, any statute …

Reflections On Vawa's Strange Bedfellows: The Partnership Between The Battered Immigrant Women's Movement And Law Enforcement, Alizabeth Newman

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Luogo E Spazio, Place And Space: Gender Quotas And Democracy In Italy, Rachel A. Van Cleave

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Comment: The Case Of Two Biological Intended Mothers: Illustrating The Need To Statutorily Define Maternity In Maryland, Catherine Villareale

University of Baltimore Law Review

Sam was born a happy and healthy baby boy, much to the delight of his mothers, Sarah and Jen. Although Jen gave birth to Sam, Jen has no genetic connection to her son. Biologically, Sarah is Sam's "ova mother"' because Sam was conceived through assisted reproductive technology using Sarah's ovum that was fertilized in vitro by an anonymous sperm donor and implanted in Jen. Both Sarah and Jen share a biological connection to Sam, Sarah through DNA and Jen through carrying him for nine months and giving birth. Consequently, Sam has two biological mothers. Yet, in Maryland, at the time …

The Persecution Of Homosexuals During The Holocaust, Jennifer Rokakis

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Top Ten Reasons Sen. Gillibrand’S Bill Is The Wrong Solution To Military Sexual Assault, Charles J. Dunlap Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

Over the years Congress has made plenty of efforts to “improve” the military justice system for a variety of reasons, but few matters have generated more offerings than did the Pentagon’s report this past spring of an estimated 26,000 victims of “unwanted sexual contacts” in the armed forces. Some initiatives to address this very critical problem, like the bipartisan effort of Senators Barbara Boxer and Lindsey Graham, look promising; others, not so much.

However, none are as misguided as Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s proposal. Indeed, it is hard to think of a proposal that could be more wrong for the military, …

Hollingsworth V. Perry, Brief For Foreign And Comparative Law Experts Harold Hongju Koh Et. Al. As Amici Curiae Supporting Respondents, Harold Hongju Koh, Sarah H. Cleveland, Laurence R. Helfer, Ryan Goodman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

No Promo Hetero: Children's Right To Be Queer, Clifford Rosky

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

This Article argues that the government has no legitimate interest in promoting heterosexuality or gender conformity during childhood. Although opponents of LGBT rights have longed cited this goal as one of the primary justifications for discrimination against LGBT people, it has no constitutional foundation upon which to stand. Building upon a familiar schema of legal scholarship on LGBT rights, this Article challenges the state’s interest in promoting heterosexuality by articulating a tripartite defense of children’s speech, status, and conduct. It argues that these three aspects of homosexuality are connected to and protected by three constitutional clauses — the First Amendment, …

Addressing The Challenges Women Face In Retirement: Improving Social Security, Pensions, And Ssi, 46 J. Marshall L. Rev. 749 (2013), Joan Entmacher, Amy Matsui

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mickey Goes To France: A Case Study Of The Euro Disneyland Negotiations, Lauren A. Newell

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

In 1984, The Walt Disney Company ("Disney") was riding the wave of success from its newest Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort ("Tokyo Disney"), which attracted 10 million guests in the first year alone, and its thoughts turned to further international expansion-this time, in Europe. After careful consideration of potential locations and preliminary negotiations with two European governments, Disney decided in 1984 to launch Euro Disneyland ("Euro Disneyland" or "EDL") in Marne-la-Vall6e, France. The realities of opening and operating EDL in France were far different than Disney's expectations when it began negotiations-so much so that the Resort narrowly escaped bankruptcy. For an …

Minding The Court: Enhancing The Decision-Making Process, Pamela Casey, Kevin Burke, Steve Leben

Faculty Works

A compelling and growing body of research from the fields of cognitive psychology and neuroscience provides important insights about how we process information and make decisions. This research has great potential significance for judges, who spend much of their time making decisions of great importance to others. For most judges, this research literature is not part of their judicial education. This article reviews cutting edge research about decision making and discusses its implications for helping judges and those who work with them produce fair processes and just outcomes. It builds on a 2007 American Judges Association paper that encouraged judges …

Lindsay’S Legacy: The Tragedy That Triggered Law Reform To Prevent Teen Dating Violence, D. Kelly Weisberg

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

Intimate partner violence is common not only among adults but among teenagers as well. A recent large-scale study reveals the startling fact that dating violence begins as early as age eleven. In 2005, an innovative state law reform movement was launched that confers a proactive role on the schools to prevent teen dating violence (TDV). Currently, twenty states have laws that address TDV in the schools, and additional states have pending legislation. This article explores the impetus for this law reform movement, provides an analysis of state laws on TDV prevention, and examines pending federal legislation that overcomes a fundamental …

Collaboration And Coercion, Margaret B. Drew

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

“Collaboration and Coercion” addresses the systemic and individual concerns that arise when family members that have experienced abuse enter into the collaborative law process. A form of alternative dispute resolution, collaborative law is a method of resolving disputes without engagement of the legal system. The author addresses the structural and cultural difficulties that survivors of abuse encounter throughout the process as well as the ethical concerns that are raised when collaborative practitioners accept cases where the parties have a history of coercion within the intimate relationship.

Forced Obstetrical Intervention: The Role Of Religion And Culture, And The Woman’S Autonomous Choice, Gina Gribow

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

The right to bodily integrity is one of the most valued rights within our society. Yet, pregnant women have found this right to be jeopardized when making the informed decision to either accept or refuse medical treatment when the treatment is deemed necessary to improve or save the life of the fetus. Often, religion and culture play a central role in either establishing a basis for why the woman refuses the treatment, or establishing the context that ultimately leads to forced obstetrical intervention. Historically, it seems that when religion or culture is heavily intertwined with the woman’s decision to forgo …

De-Gendering Health Insurance: A Case For A Federal Insurance Gender Nondiscrimination Act, Kate Walsham

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is the most sweeping change to the U.S. healthcare system since 1965. It creates the perfect platform from which to improve access to medical care for transgender people. In 2005, California enacted a first-of-its-kind bill, the Insurance Gender Nondiscrimination Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender and gender identity in insurance coverage. This bill should be the model for federal regulations as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s provisions go into effect. This note advocates for enactment of a federal Insurance Gender Nondiscrimination Act based on California’s bill and the …