Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization - Bill of Health

Remarkable macro view through the microscope at process of the in vitro fertilization of a female egg inside IVF dish in the laboratory. Horizontal.

That’s Criminal: The Choices Fertility Specialists May Have to Make

March 6, 2023March 3, 2023 The Petrie-Flom Center Staff 1 Comment

By Gerard Letterie

Fertility care operates in a delicate emotional space that demands complete trust across the consult table. Trust that decisions will be made with the patient’s best interests. Trust that guidance will be offered exclusive of any other competing influence, be it financial, personal, or convenience.

In a post-Dobbs setting, new, restrictive laws may disrupt this delicate equilibrium. This concern is materializing with an increasing velocity as states look to further limit reproductive autonomy.

Next in the crosshairs might be the disposition of embryos in the context of IVF. Dobbs has energized the pro-life movement to expand beyond abortion to other reproductive technologies within the context of the catchphrase “life begins at conception.”

La Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina; 12 04 2020: Claim of legalization of abortion in Argentina. Woman with green scarves protested in front of the church.

Decriminalizing Abortion in Argentina: 8 Takeaways from the Inflection Point of Legalization

March 3, 2023March 3, 2023 Alicia Ely Yamin 7 Comments

By Alicia Ely Yamin

In December of 2020, Argentina’s Congress passed Law 27.610, which overhauled the country’s previously restrictive legal framework on abortion. Law 27.610, “Access to Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy,” created two kinds of legal abortion: (i) IVE (its acronym in Spanish, which translates to “Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy”), which allows any person to request an abortion up to 14 weeks gestation; and (ii) ILE (which stands for “Legal Interruption of Pregnancy”), which makes abortion available at any point in a pregnancy for cases involving rape, and where there is a threat to the life or “integral health” of the pregnant person.

Around the world, when countries have taken steps to liberalize abortion access, these new laws have proven challenging to implement, as in Ireland and South Africa. As with any country, lessons from Argentina are deeply contextualized. Nonetheless, the Argentine experience offers insights to consider for countries at different stages of abortion struggles.

The United States Capitol building at sunset at night in Washington DC, USA

The End of Public Health? It’s Not Dead Yet

February 27, 2023February 24, 2023 The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

By Nicole Huberfeld

Once again, health law has become a vehicle for constitutional change, with courts hollowing federal and state public health authority while also generating new challenges. In part, this pattern is occurring because the New Roberts Court — the post-Ruth Bader Ginsburg composition of U.S. Supreme Court justices — is led by jurists who rely on “clear statement rules.” This statutory interpretation canon demands Congress draft textually unambiguous laws and contains a presumption against broadly-worded statutes that are meant to be adaptable over time. In effect, Congress should leave nothing to the imagination of those responsible for implementing federal laws, i.e., executive agencies and state officials, so everything a statute covers must be specified, with no room for legislative history or other non-textual sources.

New York NY USA-August 17, 2021 Businesses in Chelsea in New York display signs requiring proof of vaccination prior to entering.

Employers and the Future of Public Health

February 22, 2023February 21, 2023 The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

By Sharona Hoffman

As state and federal public health authority erodes, employers may increasingly find themselves playing a central role in promoting public health. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers either incentivized or required employees and customers to be vaccinated and/or masked even in the absence of federal and state mandates. In the future, they may frequently take the lead in implementing public health measures.

Overhauling our Federal Courts to Preserve and Advance Public Health

February 16, 2023February 16, 2023 The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

By Sarah Wetter and Lawrence O. Gostin

In the Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton called judicial independence “the best expedient which can be devised in any government to secure a steady, upright, and impartial administration of the laws.” Judicial independence is also critical for public health. Over the last century, courts have affirmed broad public health powers and established modern health-related rights. Yet in a significant departure from history, today’s federal courts have been far from impartial, issuing ideology-driven decisions that will resound for decades to come, with harmful public health consequences.

simple black childish hand drawing lines lightbulbs on yellow background.

Failures of Imagination in Public Health Policy

February 10, 2023February 10, 2023 The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

By Daniel Swartzman

If public health is to prosper, we will need to overcome the after-effects of several failures of imagination.

Failing to recognize the threat to liberal democracy from the last 50 years of coordinated conservative political and policy actions.
Failing to use litigation against inadequate public health actions, as did the early civil rights and environmental movements.
Failing to anticipate litigation that challenges our efforts, such as with the ACA or the upcoming attempt to “codify Roe v. Wade.”
Failing to demand moral leadership of governmental actors.
Failing to make political action and advocacy an integral part of professional education in public health.

Hospital beds in a room filled with smoke.

The End of Public Health? An Introduction to the Symposium

February 9, 2023February 9, 2023 Jennifer S. Bard Leave a comment

By Jennifer S. Bard

Teaching public health law over these past three years has meant contending with a series of federal and state court rulings that in different ways have called into question many of what seemed to be the most established principles of public health law. The double whammy of the pandemic and a new, and very different Supreme Court have already resulted in more dramatic changes to public health law in the past few years than in the preceding one hundred plus years.

Boston, MA, US-June 25, 2022: Protests holding pro-abortion signs at demonstration in response to the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

Physician-Led Advocacy for the Future of Reproductive Health Care

December 12, 2022December 8, 2022 Katie Gu Leave a comment

By Katie Gu

The American Medical Association (AMA) recently adopted new policies aimed at protecting access to reproductive health care and reducing government interference in medical practice. As the nation’s most prominent professional medical association, the AMA’s unified stance brings a stronger physician-led voice in reproductive health care advocacy in the aftermath of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Care Organization.

New Delhi, India-May 4 2018: Supreme court of India building in New Delhi, India.

The Supreme Court of India’s Landmark Abortion Ruling, Explained

October 17, 2022October 14, 2022 Aparajita Lath Leave a comment

By Aparajita Lath

The Supreme Court of India recently ruled that all women, whether married or not, have equal rights to access abortion up to 24 weeks of gestation, in compliance with the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (MTP Act).

Prior to this ruling, the MTP Act was understood to permit abortions up to 20 weeks (on the advice of one medical practitioner), and up to 24 weeks in certain specific cases, e.g., minors, pregnancies resulting from rape, women experiencing changes in marital status, women with certain mental / physical disabilities, fetal malformation, or pregnancies in emergency situations. The Supreme Court has now expanded the law to ensure access to abortion for all women, regardless of marital status, up to 24 weeks gestation.

American Constitution - We the people with US Flag and gavel.

Abortion Bans Threatening Pregnant Patients’ Lives Are Unconstitutional

October 5, 2022October 5, 2022 The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

By James G. Hodge, Jr., Jennifer Piatt, Erica N. White, Summer Ghaith, Madisyn Puchebner, and C. McKenna Sauer

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the constitutional right to abortion, laws went into effect in multiple states that restrict when abortions may be provided, including during potentially life-threatening emergencies.

To the extent highly restrictive, amorphous, and indeterminate abortion bans contravene physician implementation of life-saving interventions for pregnant patients — and thus infringe upon the Fourteenth Amendment’s protection of the right to life — they are unconstitutional.

Tag: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization