Events Calendar

Join us for the final event in our Rapoport Center Reproductive Justice Colloquium Series, presented by Professor of Law at Loyola Law School Priscilla Ocen. Assistant Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies Nessette Falu will respond.

This event is co-sponsored by the Texas Law Pipeline Beyond Program.

Abstract: Since the Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, at least 24 states across the country have enacted draconian restrictions on abortion. While the form of these restrictions may vary, many have one thing in common: they are facilitated by the vast network of surveillance and punishment constructed as part of the “war on crime” that produced the largest prison population in the world. At every stage, law enforcement plays a critical role in restricting reproductive autonomy of people capable of pregnancy. Despite that policing is a critical component of anti-abortion restrictions, few pro-choice advocates have embraced critiques of policing or the broad use of law enforcement to address systemic social problems. This is a mistake. In this talk, I argue that to secure the right to reproductive autonomy, advocates and scholars must challenge the role of policing in care settings and question the fundamental role of imprisonment and punishment in our society through an abolitionist lens.

Sponsored by:

• Bernard & Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights & Justice

• Texas Law Pipeline Beyond Program