Reproductive Rights Prof Blog

Gender and Judicial Quality? Paper concludes: "Bring on the Women!"

Slate Magazine: Do Women Make Better Judges?, by Stephen Choi, Mitu Gulati, Mirya Holman, & Eric Posner:

Asked and answered—with data.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor's elevation to the Supreme Court brought to the surface a long-simmering controversy about the relationship between gender and judging. Are female nominees for judicial positions chosen based on affirmative action? If so, are women on the bench worse judges than men—or do they come with advantages that men lack? This controversy has legs. If Justice Ginsburg is forced to retire this term because of illness, reducing the number of female justices from two to one, there will be a great deal of pressure on President Obama to nominate another female jurist. Or if Justice John Paul Stevens retires, why not three women on the high court? . . . 

The claim that women are worse—or better—than men at judging should be susceptible to empirical investigation. There is no obvious way, however, to measure judicial quality; lawyers dispute endlessly whether cases are rightly or wrongly decided—and, ultimately, a good judge is just a judge who decides cases correctly. Still, we have come up with some indirect measures of judicial quality. These include productivity (how many opinions judges write), influence (how frequently other judges rely on their opinions), and independence (how often judges dissent from opinions written by judges who belong to the same political party). We looked at the performance of hundreds of judges over a number of years and working in different types of courts—state supreme courts, federal trial courts, and federal appellate courts. (Our paper is here.) . . . 

[O]ur basic point is this: The fact that female judges are selected from a shallower pool of talent does not imply that they are worse judges than men. In fact, the evidence suggests that they are at least as good as male judges, perhaps better. When she sat on the 2^nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Justice Sotomayor ranked among the most cited federal appellate judges in the country. Bring on the women!

A Look at the Importance of Birth Order

NY Times: Birth Order: Fun to Debate, but How Important?, by Perri Klass:

. . . Everyone takes it personally when it comes to birth order. After all, everyone is an oldest or a middle or a youngest or an only child, and even as adults we revert almost inevitably to a joke or resentment or rivalry that we’ve never quite outgrown.

Children and parents alike are profoundly affected by the constellations of siblings; it is said that no two children grow up in the same family, because each sibling’s experience is so different. . . . But that doesn’t mean the effects of birth order are as clear or straightforward as we sometimes make them sound. . . .

Guest Editor, Julie Graves Krishnaswami, Starting Tomorrow

Starting tomorrow, through June 25, my colleague, Julie Graves Krishnaswami, will guest-edit this blog, as I will be out of the country.  Here's her bio:

Julie Graves Krishnaswami, Associate Law Library Professor, earned her J.D. from CUNY School of Law, where she was the Symposium and Articles Editor for The New York City Law Review. She received her Masters in Library and Information Science (M.L.I.S.) from Pratt Institute and her B.A. in history from Reed College.

As an attorney, she worked as a litigator handling class action and appellate litigation, including several nationwide securities and anti-trust class actions. Additionally, she represented non-profit organizations in commercial and municipal litigation. Before joining the firm, she clerked for Judge Susan L. Reisner of the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey. Additionally, she represented public benefit recipients in administrative hearings before the New York City Department of Human Resources Administration. She has also worked for Planned Parenthood Federation of American in Washington, D.C. tracking and researching state legislation on abortion and women's health issues in the public policy/litigation and law department.

Thanks to my research assistant!

Now that the semester is over, I would like to thank my research assistant, Christina Tenuta (CUNY rising 3L), who has been faithfully researching for this blog now for several semesters.

National Zoo Panda May Be Pregnant

UPI: National Zoo on panda pregnancy alert:

Behavioral changes exhibited by the Washington National Zoo's giant female panda have put zoologists on a pregnancy alert, officials said.

Detecting changes in her actions and hormones, zoo officials are cautiously optimistic Mei Xiang might be pregnant. However, they warn it may be another in a series of false pregnancies for the panda, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

Women's Law Project Launches Blog

The Women's Law Project has started a blog.  Here is a recent post:

Family Planning and the Stimulus Package

Earlier this week, the House of Representatives passed an economic stimulus package. A previous version of the bill had included provisions for supplying contraception to low-income women on Medicaid. When House Republicans objected to the provision, President Obama asked the Democratic House leadership to remove the family planning provision from the package, which they did. The bill passed on Wednesday night without the family planning provision, and without a single Republican representative voting for the package.

If you’re wondering what all the fuss was about, Time magazine has a good rundown of exactly what happened. The family planning provision - which would not have included any abortion services, thanks to the Hyde Amendment, simply contraceptives - would have been a stimulus measure by reducing health care costs. From the article:

The Guttmacher Institute, which advocates for abortion rights, estimates that every dollar of publicly funded family-planning services saves $4 in state and federal dollars. And when the Congressional Budget Office looked at a very similar provision in 2007, it estimated that the federal savings would have totaled $200 million over five years and $400 million over 10.

It’s disappointing that the leadership in Washington did not commit to helping all women, regardless of their income, make the reproductive choices for themselves right now. But feminists are hopeful that funding for family planning for low-income women will be passed soon.

Fire Strikes Nebraska Abortion Clinic

MSNBC/TheOmahaChannel.com: Fire Engulfs Lower Level Of Clinic Where Abortions Performed:

The physician who operates a health clinic where abortions are performed said a fire that broke out Friday morning in the clinic's basement is "very suspicious."

The physician, Dr. Leroy Carhart, said the fire started in the lower level where records are stored. He said there's nothing in the basement that could start a fire.

Further, Carhart said, the electrical circuit in the lower level is turned off when the clinic is closed.

Dr. Carhart was the plaintiff in two challenges to so-called "partial-birth abortion" bans decided by the Supreme Court: Stenberg v. Carhart (2000) (striking down Nebraska's ban); Gonzales v. Carhart (2007) (upholding federal ban).  In 1991, a fire destroyed Carhart's home and barn, killing seventeen horses, and a pet dog and cat.

Madoff Debacle Hits Reproductive Rights Advocacy Groups

Salon.com Broadsheet: How the Madoff mess hits women, by Nancy Goldstein:

For all the ink that's been spilled on the Madoff investment scandal, I've read nothing about its impact on funding for progressive women's causes -- which is considerable. Simply put, only a small pool of foundations are funding litigation and advocacy work related to criminal justice or constitutional rights; the pool that supports related programs targeted to women is smaller still. With the recent shuttering of two of Madoff's clients, the Picower Foundation and the JEHT Foundation, that pool has shrunk to a puddle.

Picower was one of a handful of foundations willing to stick their necks out and significantly fund the three organizations that handle virtually all major reproductive rights-related litigation and legal advocacy in the United States. Now the Center for Reproductive Rights needs to make up a $600,000 shortage in 2009; Planned Parenthood is out $484,000; the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project is off $200,000.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Via the United Nations: Human Rights Day: Dignity and Justice for All of Us:

The universal declaration of human rights: A living document

Many things can be said about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). It is the foundation of international human rights law, the first universal statement on the basic principles of inalienable human rights, and a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. As the UDHR approaches its 60th birthday, it is timely to emphasize the living document’s enduring relevance, its universality, and that it has everything to do with all of us. Today, the UDHR is more relevant than ever.

Read the full text of the UDHR.

VOTE!

No Entries in Contest Awarding $10,000 to an Engaged Couple for Avoiding Premarital Sex

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Don’t have sex, win a $10,000 wedding, by Helena Oliviero:

There seems to be one small problem with a contest that would pay $10,000 to an engaged couple — they can’t be engaged in premarital sex.

How else to explain that in this sinking economy, no one has stepped forward to enter the Marriage for a Lifetime contest?

Did we mention the cash prize? Or the free flowers, the invitations and other bridal goodies?

The Oct. 31 deadline is fast approaching — but so far, no entries.

Billionaire Offers $25 Mil. Prize for Development of Pet Contraception

Wall St. Journal: Billionaire Pledges $50 Million for Pet Contraception, by Robert Frank:

Philanthropists for years have used the “prize model” to spark societal innovations–from space (the X Prize) to the environment (Goldman Prize). The idea is to create a mercenary incentive to create broader social good.

Now a billionaire doctor has come up with what could arguably be the most unusual philanthropic prize of all. It is called the Michelson Prize, named after billionaire inventor Gary Michelson. The cause: pet contraception.

Specifically, he is offering $25 million to anyone who can come up with a feasible dog and cat contraceptive.

National Zoo's Panda Won't Give Birth

NBC News: Zoo's Giant Panda Will Not Give Birth:

The Smithsonian National Zoo's female giant panda Mei Xiang will not give birth to a cub this year, zoo officials announced Wednesday.Zoo officials said they believe Mei Xiang lost a developing fetus or experienced a false pregnancy, both of which are common among giant pandas.

Welcome to the Blogosphere, Nan Hunter!

Nan Hunter (Georgetown Law) has launched a brand new blog, Hunter of Justice.  It will offer a generally legal take on sexuality and gender issues.  Here's an excerpt from one of her first entries:

The politics of counting, or, Numbers never lie ... except when they do

Press reports have been building all week about the Census Bureau’s announcement that it will not count same-sex couples legally married in California or Massachusetts (or in other countries) as “married.” The San Jose Mercury News broke the story, which was picked up by the Washington Post, and the AP story ran in the Times and who knows where else. Now People for the American Way has started a petition campaign calling on the Bureau to change its policy. It's fascinating to me what legs this story has -- the issue isn't new (see below), but it's newly visible because it's being driven as a spin-off of the California drama.

Officials justify the decision as required by the Defense of Marriage Act (DoMA), which limits recognition of “marriage” to different-sex couples for purposes of all federal laws and agency actions. See the Bureau’s analysis, originally posted regarding the 2000 census: http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/samesex.html

Sales Drop for Cervical Cancer Vaccine Gardasil

The Wall Street Journal: Merck Buffeted by Analyst Report, by Avery Johnson:

Merck & Co.'s shares dropped 4.8% after an analyst report questioned whether sales of the cervical-cancer vaccine Gardasil have met Wall Street estimates for the second quarter.

UBS pharmaceuticals analyst Roopesh Patel cut his rating on the Whitehouse Station, N.J., drug maker, saying U.S. Gardasil sales may have fallen about $50 million short of expectations.

Barack Obama Explains the Meaning of Life

Political Punch (ABC News blogs), by Jake Tapper:

At a town hall meeting in Kaukauna, Wisc., Thursday afternoon, amidst questions about health care and the economy, a young man said he had a question for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, and Obama should "please be as intellectual or spiritual as you would like."

"Well this is a lot of pressure," Obama said to laugher.

"My question is: what does life mean to you?" the young man asked....

Rare pregnancy of weedy sea dragon at Georgia aquarium

Yes, this blog usually focuses on human reproduction.  But I do love the weedy sea dragon.  Plus, isn't it cool that male sea dragons (and seahorses) are the ones who give birth? 

Associated Press: Rare pregnancy of weedy sea dragon at US aquarium:

ATLANTA: The Georgia Aquarium is celebrating a rare occurrence: a weedy sea dragon at the aquarium is pregnant.

It is only the third time ever that such a creature has been pregnant at a U.S. aquarium, aquarium officials said.

Sea dragons are one of the very few species — along with sea horses and pipe fish — in which the male carries the eggs, said Kerry Gladish, a biologist at the aquarium.

Invitation to Join ProChoice Professionals on LinkedIn

From Justin Diedrich:

LinkedIn is an online social networking site where professionals can meet and share CVs, post jobs, and connect with other like-minded individuals.  I started a group called ProChoice Professionals to try and bring together some of the many pro-choicers from so many different medical & non-medical groups. 

My goals in creating this conglomerate are to:

• Help increase awareness of reproductive rights
• Increase cohesion and networking in the many facets of the pro-choice community
• Provide a venue for pro-choice professionals to network
• And, really, to get the word out – there are so many of us!  The Pro-Choice community is everywhere! 

There are already almost 200 members from around the world—NAF, NARAL, PPFA, IPAS, media groups, lawyers, academics, activists, students and self-identified ProChoice individuals! 

I wanted to extend an invitation to readers of this blog.  When you sign on, you create a profile and will have access to all of the other profiles of our group members.  It's a great way to see potential job applicants, colleagues and find people that may help out your research projects. 

To send your request to join the group, just click here.  If you don't use LinkedIn, when you click you will be asked to create a profile.  And you can make your profile as private or as public as you wish. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.  And please, feel free to extend this invitation to any pro-choice list-serve, friend, or colleague you think would be interested.

Thanks for your support!

Justin Diedrich, MD
Family Planning Research Coordinator
San Francisco General Hospital
The Bixby Center, UCSF

Inventor Who Helped Make Abortions Safer Dies

L.A. Times: Harvey Karman, 84; invented device for safer, easier abortions, by Elaine Woo:

Harvey Karman, a flamboyant psychologist whose invention made a key contribution to women's reproductive health, particularly by making abortions simpler, cheaper and less painful, died May 6 at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara. He was 84.

The cause was a stroke, said his son Kenneth, of Los Angeles.

Activist, inventor, educator and rogue, Karman was drawn to the plight of women facing unwanted pregnancy in the 1950s, when abortion was illegal. While training in psychology at UCLA, he started an underground abortion referral service and eventually performed abortions himself, for which he was convicted and sent to state prison for 2 1/2 years.

In the early 1970s he developed a soft, flexible tube, or cannula, for a device that was widely adopted in the United States and developing countries to perform early abortions. He freely demonstrated its use for doctors and other medical professionals and in 1972 was part of a humanitarian mission to terminate the pregnancies of 1,500 Bangladesh women and girls who had been raped by Pakistani soldiers. His cannula is still widely used today.