After Roe: Michigan Experts Discuss Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization

On December 1, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a Mississippi case that would make most abortions illegal after 15 weeks of pregnancy (roughly two months earlier than the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade). The state explicitly asked the Court to overrule Roe, which turns 49 on January 22, 2022. A solid majority of Justices (6-3) are on record opposing abortion rights. IRWG has invited experts to discuss the case, including implications for the future of abortion access across the states and reproductive rights and justice in the U.S. more broadly. The oral argument recording and transcript are available here.

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About the panelists:

• Vanessa Dalton, MPH, MD, is a Professor, the Associate Chair for Research, and the Co-Director of the Gynecology Division, at the University of Michigan’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is also the Director of the Program on Women’s Healthcare Effectiveness Research (PWHER) and the Co-Director of the Family Planning Fellowship Program. In addition, Dr. Dalton is a member of the Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation (IHPI), and a faculty affiliate of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG) at the University of Michigan.
• Leah Litman teaches and writes on constitutional law, federal post-conviction review, and federal sentencing at the University of Michigan Law School. Her current research focuses on how legal processes and the federal courts constrain and constitute a system marked by profound racial and political disparities. Her recent work has appeared or will appear in the California Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Duke Law Journal, and Northwestern Law Review, among other journals. Her writing for popular audiences has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Slate; she also is a regular contributor to the Take Care Blog. In addition, she is one of the co-hosts and creators of Strict Scrutiny, a podcast about the U.S. Supreme Court, and a co-creator, together with Emily Prifogle, of Women Also Know Law, a tool to promote the work of women and non-binary academics.
• Sara McClelland is a feminist psychologist who studies stigma and discrimination, with a focus on issues of reproductive justice and critical sexuality studies. She has served as an expert witness on state cases related to abortion legislation, including Adams & Boyle v. Slatery. She teaches courses in the departments of Psychology and Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Michigan.
• Sarah Wallett, MD, MPH, is the Chief Medical Officer for Planned Parenthood of Michigan and an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Michigan.