Con Law Scholars CFP The Future of Reproductive Rights at the Center for Constitutional Law

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW SCHOLARS FORUM
THE CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AT AKRON
Friday, October 28, 2022 (virtual)

The Future of Reproductive Rights

The Center for Constitutional Law at Akron seeks proposals for its annual Constitutional Law Scholars Forum. The Center is one of four national centers established by Congress in 1986 on the bicentennial of the Constitution for legal research and public education on the Constitution. Past program topics have focused on the history of race discrimination, LGBTQ rights, civil rights remedies, federal courts, and women’s suffrage. Presenters at the Center have included Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Justice Arthur Goldberg, Judge Jeffrey Sutton, Professor Reva Siegel, Professor Lawrence Solum, Professor Katie Eyer, Professor Ernest Young, Professor Julie Suk, and Professor Paula Monopoli, among many others.

The 2022 Forum brings together scholars to explore the question of the future of reproductive rights and justice. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon issue a monumental decision in the pending case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, altering the fifty-year constitutional consensus on protection for reproductive autonomy under the federal Constitution. What will the parameters of constitution liberty look like after this decision? Anticipating this change, states have already begun legislating for and against reproductive choice. Some of these cases, like those in Texas, have added justiciability hurdles to the debate before the Supreme Court. At the same time, women in the U.S. and abroad continue to seek affirmative rights related to pregnancy, surrogacy, and other reproductive interests. This Forum invites papers and presentations on any and all aspects related broadly to this topic of reproductive rights and justice.

The Forum will be held virtually on Friday, October 28, 2022. This virtual meeting allows for expanded access to scholars by reducing costs, balancing work/life/health demands, and reaching widely across geographic bounds. Papers will then be published in a symposium edition of the Center’s open-access journal, ConLawNOW (also indexed in Westlaw, Lexis, and Hein). Papers are typically shorter, essay style and publication is expedited within four to six weeks of final paper submission. The journal is designed to put issues of constitutional import into debate in a timely manner while they have the opportunity to impact the discussion and decisions.

Those interested in participating in the Constitutional Law Scholars Forum should send an abstract and CV to Professor Tracy Thomas, Director of the Center for Constitutional Law, at [email protected] by August 30, 2022.

 

Download Constitutional Law Scholars Forum CFP 2022