Study

In this one-credit Readings course, we will review the history of contraception and abortion cases and read Dobbs. We will consider both Justice Alito’s leaked majority opinion in Dobbs as well as the official opinion of the Court. We will also look at a variety of state laws that criminalize, ban or otherwise create civil liability schemes in an effort to ban abortion. We will focus throughout on the extent to which the intersection of pre-1973 law and 21st century surveillance compromises or eliminates the physical, decisional, and informational privacy of women and people who can become pregnant. We will discuss the surveillance that is likely to characterize a post-Roe world, and what criminalization of abortion and civil liability schemes (TX, OK) could mean for privacy more broadly. Finally, we will consider how and whether a decision overruling Roe v. Wade may affect other substantive due process rights including those recognized in Griswold, Eisenstadt, Lawrence and Obergefell. Students will be assessed on a combination of reflection papers and a collaborative presentation. 

Class Meets: 8/25; 9/8; 9/22; 10/6; 10/20; 11/3; 11/17; 12/1

Special Notes:

*New*

Fall 2022

Course Number	Course Credits	Evaluation Method	Instructor
611.45	Course Credits 1	Reflective Writing Class participation	Jolynn Childers Dellinger
Sakai site: https://sakai.duke.edu/portal/site/LAW-611-45-F22
Email list: LAW-611-45-F22@sakai.duke.edu