Webcast
June Medical and the Future of Reproductive Rights at SCOTUS
Streams live on Friday, September 25, 2020 at 12:00pm EDT
Course Information
Course Description
2020 will be a banner year for reproductive health and rights, with the U.S. Supreme Court reviewing a Louisiana law that requires physicians who provide abortion care to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of a clinic in June Medical Services v. Russo. In reviewing June Medical, the Court will decide whether the admitting privileges law is unconstitutional based on the Court’s precedent in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt (2016). In that case, the Court struck down an identical Texas law, ruling that admitting privileges laws are unconstitutional because they shut down clinics without providing any health or safety benefits to patients. In addition to the substantive legal question, the Court is also considering whether clinics and doctors have the standing to bring lawsuits on behalf of their patients.
Several other challenges to other laws restricting access to abortion are winding their way through the federal court systems. This year will see litigation developments on a variety of issues related to reproductive health in a number of forums that could reach SCOTUS in an upcoming term.
This course, presented by Amanda Allen of the Lawyering Project, will review the Court's decision in June Medical, as well as major litigation developments regarding access to reproductive health services and what might be next for reproductive rights at SCOTUS.
Learning Objectives:
- Analyze the Court's holding in June Medical, and how it affects abortion rights jurisprudence, including the constitutional right to abortion and standing
- Identify common legal claims made in challenging abortion restrictions
- Discuss next steps for major court cases looking ahead to 2021
Credit Information
Faculty
Amanda Allen
The Lawyering Project
Amanda Allen has spent her legal career advocating for meaningful access to reproductive health services. She is currently Senior Counsel & Managing Director at the Lawyering Project, a new initiative that aims to eliminate laws that undermine access to reproductive health services. At the Lawyering Project, Amanda cultivates and manages the organization's relationships with partners and allies, directs the organization's technical assistance portfolio, and oversees the organization's management and operations. Before joining the Lawyering Project, she held several positions at the Center for Reproductive Rights, including most recently Senior State Policy and Advocacy Counsel, where she oversaw the Center's state and local policy and advocacy initiatives in the United States. Amanda has also served as Policy Counsel at the National Institute for Reproductive Health and held post-graduate fellowships at the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum as a Georgetown Women's Law and Public Policy Fellow and If/When/How (formerly Law Students for Reproductive Justice). Amanda has appeared on MSNBC's The Melissa Harris-Perry show and Huffington Post Live, and in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, The Nation, and The Guardian.
Amanda is a 2008 graduate of CUNY School of Law and holds a B.A. from the University of Minnesota.