Constitutional Law Seminar: Reproductive Rights

This course will explore the arc of reproductive rights under the U.S. Constitution. We will review the development of early precedent concerning reproductive autonomy, family, and other intimate decision-making, and consider how that body of case law forged the basis for a right to abortion in Roe v. Wade (1973). We will then trace the major cases that eroded that right, culminating in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022). We will also address post-Dobbs developments, and look ahead to the future legal issues and possibilities for reproductive rights in the U.S., including under state constitutions.