University News Last updated 30 August 2022
On 12 July 2022, Birmingham City University School of Law's Centre for American Legal Studies hosted a roundtable to discuss the US Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization which overturned Roe v Wade, the constitutional guarantee of a woman's right to choose to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability.
Dr Anne Richardson-Oakes, Associate Professor in Law and Director of the Centre for American Legal Studies at Birmingham City University (BCU) chaired the roundtable discussion.
She was joined for discussion by Dr Rebecca Smyth, a Lecturer in Law at BCU, Dr Emma Long, Associate Professor in American History and Politics at the University of East Anglia, Dr Ilaria Di Gioia, a Senior Lecturer in Law and Associate Director of the Centre for American Legal Studies at BCU and Thomas Kidney, an Assistant Lecturer in Law at Birmingham City University.
The speakers discussed the history of abortion laws in the United States and considered reproductive freedom from a range of perspectives, including feminist, political, and constitutional law perspectives.
The potential impact of the Dobbs decision on other rights, including contraception and same-sex marriage, was also discussed, with participants reflecting that the decision will likely play a part in the upcoming November elections in the United States.
Dr Richardson-Oakes, Director of the Centre for American Legal Studies said:
Dr Di Gioia, Associate Director of the Centre for American Legal Studies said:
Dr Smyth, a Lecturer in Law at BCU said:
Thomas Kidney, Assistant Lecturer in Law at BCU said:
Please contact Anne Richardson Oakes (anne.oakes@bcu.ac.uk) and Ilaria Di Gioia (ilaria.di-gioia@bcu.ac.uk) for more details.