Abortion is Essential to Democracy
Please join the Brennan Center for Justice, the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network, and Ms. Magazine for a conversation on the importance of abortion rights to democracy. It is a perilous moment for abortion rights in America. Texas law S.B. 8, banning the provision of nearly all abortions in the state, has been in effect since last September. New restrictions are being introduced and passed across the country. And the U.S. Supreme Court will soon rule in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which poses a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade.
What are the democratic dysfunctions that have led to this pivotal point? How should we consider parallel affronts to participation and representation — the wave of voting restrictions and outsize role of big money in politics — and the anti-abortion agenda? Can we look to state courts to provide new avenues for protecting reproductive rights? And what is the legal and societal impact of criminalizing pregnancy and abortion, especially on communities of color?
*Michele Bratcher Goodwin (Moderator), Chancellor's Professor of Law, UCI Law; Host and Executive Producer, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin
*Melissa Murray, Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law; Faculty Director, Birnbaum Women's Leadership Network, NYU Law
*Lourdes Rivera, Senior Vice President, U.S. Programs, Center for Reproductive Rights
*Monica Raye Simpson, Executive Director, Sister Song
*Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, Women and Democracy Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice; Executive Director for Partnerships and Strategy, Ms. Magazine
This event will be livestreamed; kindly register via EventBrite.