The Alabama IVF ruling, fetal personhood and the future of reproductive rights with Michele Bratcher Goodwin

The Alabama Supreme Court ruling giving frozen embryos outside the womb the same legal status as living children left us shocked and dismayed.

Even some politicians who have been trying to enshrine "fetal personhood" into law seem to have been caught off-guard. As if it had never occurred to them that IVF would come under threat along with abortion if life, as they claim to believe, begins at conception.

We could not ask for a better guest to unpack this latest ruling and its broader implications for the fight for reproductive freedom than Michele Bratcher Goodwin.

One of the country's leading experts on health law and reproductive rights, Michele has been studying and writing about the "fetal personhood" movement and the policing of reproduction for decades. She will help us understand what just happened in Alabama, how it fits into the ongoing war on reproductive health, and what we can expect next.

Michele is a Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy at Georgetown Law. She has been a good friend of WIL's since she was with UCI as Chancellor's Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy.

Most of you probably know Michele, but just in case, you can find her bio here. If you'd like to read more about the issue before the luncheon, this link will take you to a piece Michele wrote back in 2018, "If Embryos and Fetuses have Rights."

We are truly fortunate that Michele is carving out time in her schedule again this year to speak at a WIL luncheon, and we hope you will join us for what will be a fascinating talk.