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2024 Contest Rules

This Spring of 2024, The Catholic University of America’s Center for Human Rights is hosting its second-ever Human Rights Essay Contest. This year's prompt is:

"Choose a human rights issue in China that you believe needs moreattention. What current initiatives are working to address it, and whatcan Americans do to support Chinese people who are affected by it? (1000 words)"

Essays are due by April 14, 2024. Students of all ages (high school and up) are invited to submit essays to [email protected]. Prizes Include:

Signed copy of The Barefoot Lawyer Appearance on The Barefoot Lawyer Reports podcast Publication on Center for Human Rights website A Cash Prize

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2023 First Place Essay: The Antidote against the CCP Virus

By Jose Nunes

"In his autobiography, Treasure in Clay, Archbishop Fulton Sheen describes the captivating faith of a Chinese girl around the time of the Maiost Revolution in 1949. After a priest started saying Mass, Communists soldiers stormed into his church, grabbed and put him under house arrest in an adjoining room. They also opened the tabernacle, threw the consecrated Hosts on the floor, and robbed the Sacred Vessels. As the priest began to pray in atonement for these sacrilegious acts, he witnessed the courage of a girl who would sneak into the church every day at 3 am to take communion by pressing her tongue against the Holy Host laying on the floor. She would continue to do so for about 30 days taking one Host a day. Finally, when there was only one left, she went to the church as usual and took it. Unwillingly, she was seen by a Communist soldier who immediately shot and killed her. This girl came to be called “Little Li”; her story illustrates the evil of communism and provides an inspirational model of how to stand against it." Continue Reading

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2023 Second Place (Tied) Essay: Revisiting ‘Centesimus Annus’ and American Ideals Amid the CCP’s Human Rights Atrocities

By Brandon Showalter

"“She did not know at all that she had swept away the logic of the mind, the logic of history, the logic of politics, the myth of the 20th century, with five annihilating words: one night he heard screams.” – Whittaker Chambers, “Witness” In arguably the most memorable passage of his 1952 book, “Witness,” Soviet spy-turned-Christian Whittaker Chambers documented the visceral screams of communism’s victims that a formerly pro-Soviet German diplomat had heard in Moscow. As the diplomat’s daughter recounted to Chambers, these were the soul-piercing cries that jolted her father out of his ideological stupor." Continue Reading

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2023 Second Place (Tied) Essay: The Failure of Communist China

By Peter James

"Every government system has its strengths, but certain strengths come with certain weaknesses. Communism’s weaknesses outweigh its strengths, and communist China is no exception. Winston Churchill famously noted, “Indeed it has been said that Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time”.1 Perhaps President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party should heed that truth. But the CCP’s whole foundation and power rests on being antithetical to truth." Continue Reading

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UNO Human Rights Essay Contest

The Goldstein Family Community Chair In Human Rights hosts a human rights essay contest each spring for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. Human rights are instrumental to our well-being and success as individuals. By engaging students in human rights topics early, we hope to spark understanding and curiosity about these issues that students will carry into their future endeavors of lifelong learning.

See below for current contest information and previous winners. Download PDF flier

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2023 Winners

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Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

2024 human rights essay award, call for submission for the human rights essay award is now open, 2024 topic: protection and guarantee of human rights in digital environments .

The Human Rights Essay Award is an annual award sponsored by the Academy aimed at encouraging the production of academic articles in the field of international human rights law. The topic for the 2024 award is " Protection and Guarantee of Human Rights in Digital Environments ." Participants have the flexibility to choose any subject related to this theme. However, the scope of the essay must directly correspond to the 2024 theme, or it will be disqualified. Additionally, we would like to note that we believe international human rights law includes international humanitarian law and international criminal law.

CALL FOR ESSAYS RESUBMISSION AND DEADLINE EXTENDED!

Due to technical difficulties with the Essays submission form, the Award pre-selection committee hasn’t been able to collect all the submitted Essays. If you have sent an Essay to us, even if you received a confirmation email acknowledging that we received the Essays, it might happen that we didn’t. We apologize for these technological issues . In order to guarantee that all prospective candidates who presented their Essays timely and in proper shape and form can participate on the Award, we have decided to extend the submission deadline until Wednesday, February 7th, 2024, at 11:59 PM (Washington DC Time)

For resubmission, please send us an email to [email protected] and attached both: (i) Resume; and (ii) Essay. Make sure to attached both document. Include your name. We kindly ask you to also forward us the received confirmation email to certify that your submission was done during the original deadline.

The essay submission form has been disable to avoid confusion. If you still have access to that form please disregard it. The only valid mean to successfully complete your resubmission is by sending us an email as described above.

We encourage you to make your resubmission. Our Honor Jury and the Academy is excited to read you approaches to the protection of Human Rights in Digital Environments, and once again, apologize to all the candidates for this inconvenience.

ABOUT THE AWARD

The Academy will grant  two  Awards, one for the best article in English and one for the best article in Spanish. The Award in each case will consist of:

A full tuition scholarship to the Program of Advanced Studies on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law for either the Diploma or Certificate of Attendance options (travel, housing and per diem living expenses are not included)*

The best articles may also be published in the American University International Law Review,  which contains relevant and diverse academic material. This prestigious journal receives approximately 1,500 submissions each year and publishes legal research from professors, judges, lawyers, and renowned scholars.

* In 2021 the Program of Advanced Studies in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law  was held virtually due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Academy reserves the right to determine if the 2024 Program will be held virtually. 

Participants Eligibility Requirements:

Must hold a law degree, Juris Doctor, (J.D.), Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), or equivalent.

Shall have a demonstrated experience or interest in international human rights law.  

H ave the flexibility to choose any subject related to the 2024 topic: ¨ Protection and Assurance of Human Rights in Digital Environments ¨

Must keep in mind the essay must be a legal article citation sources. 

Important dates:

Deadline for submissions (EXTENDED!): February 7, 2024, 11:59 PM (DC Time)

Winners Announcement: April 1st, 2024 (Website)

Difference between the award and our LL.M Program

We would like to remind you that the Human Rights Essay Award is a project offered by the Academy of Human Rights and International Law. The project is not related to the application process for our LL.M. programs , for which you need to follow all the steps outlined on our website at this link , which we encourage you to consult if you are interested.

Want to know more?

Click on the right menu to learn more about the Award regulations.

Contact us!

For more information, please contact us at  [email protected] . Allow  48 to 72 business hours for responses

We invite you all to keep visiting this page for more details on the 2024 Human Rights Essay Award!

Official Rules

Essay Submission

American University International Law Review

Go to the page in Spanish

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Essay Competition Theme: What Are Human Rights?

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  • Read the booklet What Are Human Rights? (You can download a copy of the booklet from our website or order it from our online store.) Click to download                                        Click to order 
  • Essay Theme: What are human rights?
  • The essay can be handwritten or typed (single spaced).
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Deadline: December 1st  Notification: December 10th, Human Rights Day

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human rights essay contest

Lord Reading Society Human Rights Essay Contest

The lord reading society human rights essay contest.

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Society’s Human Rights Essay Contest. This contest not only pays homage to the remarkable legacy of The Lord Reading Law Society, but also seeks to delve into the most significant Canadian human rights issues in 2024 from a legal perspective. This essay contest is intended to serve as a testament to the Society’s commitment to human rights, the pursuit of justice, and the defence of the rule of law.

We invite all lawyers, including members of the Barreau du Quebec, any other law society, notaries, law professors and law students to participate in this unique opportunity to contribute to the advancement of human rights law in Canada.

Embrace the opportunity to express your thoughts and insights in either English or French, crafting an essay that addresses your perspective on the most pressing human rights issues relevant to current Canadian law. The field of topics that may be addressed is intended to be broad and submissions may address issues related to race, religion, language, indigenous rights, LGBTQ+, refugees, freedom of expression or any other human rights question that might be of interest, whether related to the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the use of the “Notwithstanding clause”, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, case law, legal procedure, or anything of the contributor’s choosing pertaining to the foregoing.

Authors are allotted up to 2000 words (exclusive of footnotes) to make a compelling legal argument. To submit, authors must send their essay in electronic format (Word or PDF) to [email protected] by August 15, 2024 at 5 PM EST with the subject “YOUR NAME – Human Rights Essay.” No late submissions will be considered for review.

Upon submission, an esteemed jury of Lord Reading members appointed by The Lord Reading Law Society’s board will evaluate the essays based on a comprehensive set of criteria. We seek originality and creativity, encouraging participants to offer fresh perspectives and innovative solutions. Clarity and coherence of arguments are vital to ensure that your message resonates powerfully.

Each essay will undergo a rigorous evaluation process, conducted by our jury. To ensure utmost fairness and impartiality, all essays will be submitted anonymously. Names and personal information will be removed during the evaluation process, allowing the jury to focus solely on the merit of the submissions. For this year’s competition, the jury will include Gregory Azancot (Azancot & Associates), Karen Eltis (uOttawa Centre for Law, Technology and Society), Mara Greenstone (MT>Align, a division of McCarthy Tetrault LLP), Neil Hazan (Borden Ladner Gervais), Erin Lesser (RBC), Manuel Shacter (McMillan LLP) and Ian Solloway (Spunt & Carin).

As we celebrate this momentous occasion, The Lord Reading Law Society is committed to sharing the top submissions in an online compendium entitled “The Lord Reading Human Rights Essay Series,” half from student contributors and half from professional contributors.

The grand prize winners (the student and professional contributors placing in first, second, and third place) will each receive a Lord Reading membership for a single season and a pass to attend two Lord Reading events free of charge during such season. Winners will also receive the following cash prizes:

  • First prize: $1,000
  • Second prize: $600
  • Third prize: $400

The top submissions will be proudly published and made available on our website. In addition, a curated PDF version will be distributed to various outlets, including, legal organizations, government agencies, academic institutions, journals and the media, promoting advanced discourse on human rights.

Together, let us celebrate The Lord Reading Law Society’s remarkable legacy, honour the rich legal heritage of Québec and Canada, and champion the fundamental principles of human rights that are the very foundation of the Lord Reading Law Society’s mission and at the core of our profession. Your voice can shape Canadian human rights discourse, leaving an indelible impact on the legal landscape of our country.

Terms and Conditions

In submitting works for potential inclusion in The Lord Reading Human Rights Essay Series, any person submitting work acknowledges and agrees to the following terms and conditions:

  • The contributor acknowledges that the essay series is intended to promote bona fide legal scholarship.
  • The contributor represents and warrants that it has authored the submission in question (“Submission”) and has the legal right to make the relevant contribution.
  • The contributor represents and warrants that it grants the Lord Reading Law Society and its sublicensees an irrevocable right to publish and publicize the Submission.
  • The contributor acknowledges and agrees that the award of prizes by the jury are in its sole and unfettered discretion and shall be final, binding and without appeal.
  • The contributor acknowledges and agrees that he/she has no right to access any information in connection with its Submission, other submissions, jury deliberations nor any decision-making in connection with the essay series.

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Latah County Human Rights Task Force

Strengthening the bonds of community to embrace diversity and reject bigotry..

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2024 Art and Essay Contest Winners

2023-2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Art & Essay Contest –

Latah County Human Rights Task Force Theme: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND OUR LIBRARIES        

ART WINNERS

Grades 1-3 Art Topic: Draw a picture about a book that has taught you something important.

Cordelia Haley – Megan Cueller’s 2 nd grade class- Lena Whitmore.     

            After listening to her teacher read books about Martin Luther King, Jr., Cordelia drew a picture of two people, one holding up a sign that says “Justice,” the other holding up a sign that says, “We Want Jobs.”                                                                                         

Cece Rose Ristene – Peggy Quesnell’s [K’nell] 2 nd grade class – St. Mary’s.                                          Cece read a book about a dog who helps other animals. It taught her that being a friend is fun and that being nice is important.

Eduarda Gurge – Jessica Jones’ 3 rd grade art class – Moscow Charter.                          Eduarda drew “The Great Kapak Tree” with animals in its branches and a rainbow on top. Eduarda learned about the rain forest.

Grades 4-5 Art Topic: Create a drawing or poster celebrating an aspect of the library that you value most.

Quinten Rowley – Jessica Jones’ 4 th grade art class – Moscow Charter.                        Quinten drew a boy enjoying the Latah County Library because it offers “So Many Choices!”

Haylee Cohee – Jessica Jones’ 5 th grade art class – Moscow Charter.                                        Hayley drew “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and shelves of books. She included quotes like “When in doubt, go to the library” by J.K. Rowling and “The library is a wilderness of books” by Henry David Thoreau.

EXCERPTS FROM WINNING ESSAYS

Grades 1-3: Essay Topic: Write a paragraph about a book from your school or public library that taught you something important .

Cordelia Haley – Megan Cuellar’s 2 nd grade class – Lena Whitmore “What I learned from books about Martin Luther King. Stand up for what you believe no matter what. Don’t fight with fists, fight with words. No matter what time it is, there’s always work to do!”

Leo Johnson – Sophia Curet’s 3 rd grade class -St. Mary’s Elementary “In the story “Being Frank” by Donna Earnhardt I learned that you should always tell the truth but say it nicely. In this story Frank says the truth but he says it in an unkind way. His grandpa shows him how to tell the truth in a nice way. I really enjoyed this book because it’s a really fun story and it teaches you a good lesson.”

Grades 4-5 Essay Topic: Write a three paragraph thank-you letter to your school or public library discussing an aspect of the library that you value most .

Fern Newlan – Shannon Nierman’s 4 th grade class – St Mary’s

“People who have libraries sometimes overlook the information they provide…. Here are a few things that libraries provide: books, computers and most importantly knowledge. I’m going to thank the people who write the books.” Among others, she thanks author Barbra O’Conner who “relates to the real world. She shows us that not everything is perfect, but you might find you were supposed to be here all along.”

Catherine Apt – Wes Bascom’s 4 th grade class – McDonald Elementary

“At a young age, Storytime encouraged my interest in reading and helped develop my creativity. It allowed me to be more open minded about different ideas and pushed me to be a creative thinker.” “I have discovered new books by browsing, which has allowed me to find some of my new favorite books. Thank you for having such a fun variety of materials and activities for me to experience throughout my childhood.”

Amy Zhou – Kathryn Bonzo’s 4 th grade class – Moscow Charter School

“Libraries want humans and our civilization to have openness for all to be educated and also give us freedom to read, write, and listen which is essential to our democracy.” “The thing I value most about the library is the huge selection of books. I love reading and the library has books for me to read. Thank you for being a generous provider.

Naya Lee – Jordyn Rauer’s 5 th grade class – Lena Whitmore

“My favorite subject is reading, so our school library is very important to me. I love that all students have a wide selection of books to choose from, so that they can all find something that they love.” “I am so glad to have our librarian, Mrs. Marone and her library so that all the kids in our school can have free and easy access to wonderful books.”

Emily Scout Heward – Kate Roll’s 5 th grade class– Lena Whitmore

“I’m little but I’m old enough to know that our library is AWESOME, BEAUTFUL, WONDERFUL, CREATIVE, CALMING and so much more. If we don’t have libraries, we might not have books! When I’m 80 I want to be able to visit our library and show many more generations this wonderful creation.”

FACT TIME! Did you know that the library of congress is the largest library in the world! They have 167 million items on 838 miles of bookshelves!!”

Grades 6-8 Essay Topic: Write a five-paragraph essay explaining why freedom of expression is important to your library and to our democracy.

Nora Algarni – Tiffany Scripter’s 7 th grade English class – Moscow Middle School

“If a student reads a book, they might get an opinion on something that could change the future. A book could change a whole generation, and it could change the whole world. So, limiting students from the access of information is not the best option. Let teenagers explore the libraries and have their opinion and thoughts… This is why freedom of expression should be important everywhere because everyone should express themselves and share their opinions with the world.”

Lillian Camin – Tiffany Scripter’s 7 th grade English class – Moscow Middle School –

“Freedom of expression can be very important to both school and public libraries as well. According to the American Library Association Library Bill of Rights, all library resources have to be provided and given to establish interests, and to give enlightenment and information to everyone.” “ I believe that freedom of expression is important for democracies. I think this because of the sharing of ideas and open opinions that help democracies run. One of these reasons is that we have to gain opinions to make decisions and we have to make decisions if we want to govern ourselves.”

Grades 9-12 Essay Topic: Research the current debate over the freedom of expression in school and public libraries. Write a report on this debate, then draw your own conclusions.

Morgan Apt – Rachel Lyons’ Junior Advanced Placement class – Moscow High School –” I believe that the removal of books and censorship in public libraries is drastic and unnecessary. Allowing children to have access to information that is not age appropriate is not ideal. However, violating people’s rights to access material containing any type of perspective or idea is too extreme a measure to prevent children from exposure to harmful information. Additionally, the government could use the removal of inappropriate books to their advantage, disposing not only of books that could be damaging to children, but books that don’t align with certain personal or political beliefs. …. Freedom of expression is heavily valued in a democracy, and literature is a prime example of where differing perspectives and viewpoints are shared…. as allowed under the First Amendment. “

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2022 Human Rights Essay Contest

ISHR is pleased to announce the 2022 Human Rights Essay Contest. The contest aims to encourage and acknowledge students who have written exceptional academic papers that address issues related to human rights. Cash prizes will be awarded to two graduate students and to two undergraduate students. Contest winners, along with other selected participants, may be invited to present their essay at an ISHR event.

Click here to learn more about the contest and how to apply for the Student Review Committee . The Committee is an excellent opportunity to learn from other students’ work and expand your human rights network.

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Art & Essay Contest

Human rights commission art & essay contest, check back soon for the 2024 art & essay contest information.

To review the 2019 Art & Essay Contest “You Belong in Columbus” check out the links below.

2019 Art & Essay Contest Packet

2019 Art & Essay Entry Form

© 2024 City of Columbus, Indiana Mary K. Ferdon, Mayor City Hall 123 Washington St., Columbus, IN 47201 (812) 376-2500 | TDD: Call 711

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Guest Essay

The Supreme Court Got It Wrong: Abortion Is Not Settled Law

In an black-and-white photo illustration, nine abortion pills are arranged on a grid.

By Melissa Murray and Kate Shaw

Ms. Murray is a law professor at New York University. Ms. Shaw is a contributing Opinion writer.

In his majority opinion in the case overturning Roe v. Wade, Justice Samuel Alito insisted that the high court was finally settling the vexed abortion debate by returning the “authority to regulate abortion” to the “people and their elected representatives.”

Despite these assurances, less than two years after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, abortion is back at the Supreme Court. In the next month, the justices will hear arguments in two high-stakes cases that may shape the future of access to medication abortion and to lifesaving care for pregnancy emergencies. These cases make clear that Dobbs did not settle the question of abortion in America — instead, it generated a new slate of questions. One of those questions involves the interaction of existing legal rules with the concept of fetal personhood — the view, held by many in the anti-abortion movement, that a fetus is a person entitled to the same rights and protections as any other person.

The first case , scheduled for argument on Tuesday, F.D.A. v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, is a challenge to the Food and Drug Administration’s protocols for approving and regulating mifepristone, one of the two drugs used for medication abortions. An anti-abortion physicians’ group argues that the F.D.A. acted unlawfully when it relaxed existing restrictions on the use and distribution of mifepristone in 2016 and 2021. In 2016, the agency implemented changes that allowed the use of mifepristone up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, rather than seven; reduced the number of required in-person visits for dispensing the drug from three to one; and allowed the drug to be prescribed by individuals like nurse practitioners. In 2021, it eliminated the in-person visit requirement, clearing the way for the drug to be dispensed by mail. The physicians’ group has urged the court to throw out those regulations and reinstate the previous, more restrictive regulations surrounding the drug — a ruling that could affect access to the drug in every state, regardless of the state’s abortion politics.

The second case, scheduled for argument on April 24, involves the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (known by doctors and health policymakers as EMTALA ), which requires federally funded hospitals to provide patients, including pregnant patients, with stabilizing care or transfer to a hospital that can provide such care. At issue is the law’s interaction with state laws that severely restrict abortion, like an Idaho law that bans abortion except in cases of rape or incest and circumstances where abortion is “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.”

Although the Idaho law limits the provision of abortion care to circumstances where death is imminent, the federal government argues that under EMTALA and basic principles of federal supremacy, pregnant patients experiencing emergencies at federally funded hospitals in Idaho are entitled to abortion care, even if they are not in danger of imminent death.

These cases may be framed in the technical jargon of administrative law and federal pre-emption doctrine, but both cases involve incredibly high-stakes issues for the lives and health of pregnant persons — and offer the court an opportunity to shape the landscape of abortion access in the post-Roe era.

These two cases may also give the court a chance to seed new ground for fetal personhood. Woven throughout both cases are arguments that gesture toward the view that a fetus is a person.

If that is the case, the legal rules that would typically hold sway in these cases might not apply. If these questions must account for the rights and entitlements of the fetus, the entire calculus is upended.

In this new scenario, the issue is not simply whether EMTALA’s protections for pregnant patients pre-empt Idaho’s abortion ban, but rather which set of interests — the patient’s or the fetus’s — should be prioritized in the contest between state and federal law. Likewise, the analysis of F.D.A. regulatory protocols is entirely different if one of the arguments is that the drug to be regulated may be used to end a life.

Neither case presents the justices with a clear opportunity to endorse the notion of fetal personhood — but such claims are lurking beneath the surface. The Idaho abortion ban is called the Defense of Life Act, and in its first bill introduced in 2024, the Idaho Legislature proposed replacing the term “fetus” with “preborn child” in existing Idaho law. In its briefs before the court, Idaho continues to beat the drum of fetal personhood, insisting that EMTALA protects the unborn — rather than pregnant women who need abortions during health emergencies.

According to the state, nothing in EMTALA imposes an obligation to provide stabilizing abortion care for pregnant women. Rather, the law “actually requires stabilizing treatment for the unborn children of pregnant women.” In the mifepristone case, advocates referred to fetuses as “unborn children,” while the district judge in Texas who invalidated F.D.A. approval of the drug described it as one that “starves the unborn human until death.”

Fetal personhood language is in ascent throughout the country. In a recent decision , the Alabama Supreme Court allowed a wrongful-death suit for the destruction of frozen embryos intended for in vitro fertilization, or I.V.F. — embryos that the court characterized as “extrauterine children.”

Less discussed but as worrisome is a recent oral argument at the Florida Supreme Court concerning a proposed ballot initiative intended to enshrine a right to reproductive freedom in the state’s Constitution. In considering the proposed initiative, the chief justice of the state Supreme Court repeatedly peppered Nathan Forrester, the senior deputy solicitor general who was representing the state, with questions about whether the state recognized the fetus as a person under the Florida Constitution. The point was plain: If the fetus was a person, then the proposed ballot initiative, and its protections for reproductive rights, would change the fetus’s rights under the law, raising constitutional questions.

As these cases make clear, the drive toward fetal personhood goes beyond simply recasting abortion as homicide. If the fetus is a person, any act that involves reproduction may implicate fetal rights. Fetal personhood thus has strong potential to raise questions about access to abortion, contraception and various forms of assisted reproductive technology, including I.V.F.

In response to the shifting landscape of reproductive rights, President Biden has pledged to “restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.” Roe and its successor, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, were far from perfect; they afforded states significant leeway to impose onerous restrictions on abortion, making meaningful access an empty promise for many women and families of limited means. But the two decisions reflected a constitutional vision that, at least in theory, protected the liberty to make certain intimate choices — including choices surrounding if, when and how to become a parent.

Under the logic of Roe and Casey, the enforceability of EMTALA, the F.D.A.’s power to regulate mifepristone and access to I.V.F. weren’t in question. But in the post-Dobbs landscape, all bets are off. We no longer live in a world in which a shared conception of constitutional liberty makes a ban on I.V.F. or certain forms of contraception beyond the pale.

Melissa Murray, a law professor at New York University and a host of the Supreme Court podcast “ Strict Scrutiny ,” is a co-author of “ The Trump Indictments : The Historic Charging Documents With Commentary.”

Kate Shaw is a contributing Opinion writer, a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and a host of the Supreme Court podcast “Strict Scrutiny.” She served as a law clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens and Judge Richard Posner.

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