Reproductive Rights and Justice (Roberts)
Faculty
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| Dorothy E. Roberts George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology and the Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights dorothyroberts@law.upenn.edu |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Other Professional Skills: This course will help students develop critical thinking skills.
Grading
100% Exam,
Other (Students whose class participation is exceptional may receive a bump up of their grade on the exam.)
Exam
Essay,
In Class,
Partial Open Book (Students may access the assigned books and supplemental materials only during the exam.)
No
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- Class sessions are regularly recorded. If you are absent due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, email me and I can send you an email with instructions for accessing the recording for the class session(s) you missed.
Meeting Times/Location
MW 3:00PM - 4:20PM
Silverman Hall 245A
Category
First-Year
Credits
3.0
This course will explore the law governing reproductive health and freedom in the United States from both reproductive rights and reproductive justice approaches. According to If/When/How, “The reproductive rights framework is a legal model that serves to protect an individual’s right to reproductive decision making. The reproductive justice framework employs a broader, intersectional analysis that emphasizes the ways that race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, age, and immigration status can affect a person or community’s reproductive lives.” We will therefore discuss both court decisions that focus on adjudicating constitutional rights and scholarship and advocacy that seek to promote social justice. We will also take a broad view of reproductive health and freedom that extends beyond access to abortion to include regulation of pregnancy and birth, parenting, adoption and foster care, assisted reproductive technologies, contraception, and sterilization.
Class Discussion: All students are expected to read the assigned materials, attend class, and be prepared to participate in class discussion every week. To facilitate discussion, a different panel of students will help to lead the discussion each week. You should be prepared to answer questions about and comment on the readings for the day your panel is designated. Others may join the discussion as time permits. If you anticipate missing class on the day of your panel, please let me know as soon as possible.
Constitutional Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of constitutional law; Perform legal analysis in the context of constitutional law; Communicate effectively on topics related to constitutional law; Demonstrate an understanding of constitutional law affects other areas of law.
Family Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of family law; Perform legal analysis in the context of family law; Communicate effectively on topics related to family law; Demonstrate an understanding of how family law affects other areas of law.
Health Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of health law and policy; Perform legal analysis in the context of health law and policy; Communicate effectively on topics related to health law and policy; Demonstrate an understanding of the interconnection among health law and policy and issues of access to services, public and private financing of health industries, and the political and economic issues surrounding issues of health law and health services.
Perspectives on the Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of how the law affects, and is affected by, the individual course topic; Perform legal analysis in the context of the individual course topic; Communicate effectively on the legal and other aspects of the individual course topic; Demonstrate the ability to use other disciplines to analyze legal issues relevant to the individual course topic, including economics, philosophy, and sociology, as appropriate.
Public Interest Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of public interest law; Perform legal analysis in the context of public interest law; Communicate effectively on topics related to public interest law; Demonstrate an understanding of how public interest law is connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.
Equity and Inclusion Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Perform legal analysis in the context of topics related to equity and inclusion; Communicate effectively on the legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Demonstrate an understanding of how equity and inclusion are connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.
Textbooks
"Cases on Reproductive Rights and Justice" by Melissa Murray & Kristin Luker |