Social Movements & the Law

In recent years, states have enacted escalating numbers of restrictions on women's reproductive health care, many in the form of targeted regulation of abortion provider (TRAP) laws that shut clinics under the pretense of safeguarding health. In addition, religious objectors are increasingly demanding exemptions from laws protecting access to reproductive health care, including health insurance coverage for contraception. Together these restrictions are dramatically altering women's access to health care. How can advocates challenge these new restrictions under Planned Parenthood v. Casey? What other modes of advocacy are needed, in addition to litigation? Speakers: Caitlin Borgmann, Professor of Law, The City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law Khiara M. Bridges, Associate Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law; Associate Professor of Anthropology, Boston University Kathleen Clyde, State Representative, Ohio House of Representatives, 75th District Louise Melling, Deputy Legal Director, ACLU; Director, ACLU Center for Liberty Julie Rikelman, Litigation Director, Center for Reproductive Rights

Five women in Texas who were denied abortions are suing the state for denying them necessary medical care even though their pregnancies were nonviable and posed serious risks to their health. “I cannot adequately put into words the trauma and despair that comes with waiting to either lose your own life, your child’s life, or both. For days, I was locked in this bizarre and avoidable hell,” said Amanda Zurawski, the lead plaintiff, during a press conference Tuesday in Austin to announce the case, which also includes two doctors. While the Texas abortion ban is meant to have exceptions, many doctors are reluctant to perform the procedure because of the high legal risk, including the loss of medical licenses, hefty fines and decades in prison. “Right now abortion bans are exposing pregnant people to risks of death, illness and injury, including the loss of fertility,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is bringing the lawsuit, at a press conference Tuesday in Austin. “Contrary to the stated purpose of furthering life, abortion bans are making it less likely that every family who wants to bring a child into the world will be able to do so and survive the experience.”

In overturning Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court thrust abortion into the headlines, reigniting with new intensity one of the most painful battles of the culture wars in this country. Abortion is a complex legal question, a divisive social issue, and—for many Americans—a deeply religious matter. Too often,

"In December 2017, U.S. immigration authorities shackled and abused 92 African refugees for two days while attempting to deport them by plane to Somalia. When national media broke the story, government officials lied about what happened. Shackled tells the story of this harrowing failed deportation, the resulting class action litigation, and two men's search for safety in the United States over the course of three long years. Through Abdulahi and Sa'id's firsthand accounts, immigration lawyer Rebecca Sharpless brings to life the harsh consequences of the U.S. deportation system and how racism and antiblackness operate within it. Sharpless follows the money that ICE funnels into local jails, private contractors, and charter jets, exposing a sprawling system of immigration enforcement that detains and abuses noncitizens at scale. Woven with the wider context of Abdulahi and Sa'id's stories, this immigration odyssey reveals disturbing truths about Somalia, asylum, and the U.S. court system. Shackled will galvanize readers-activists, attorneys, scholars, and policymakers alike-to call out and dismantle this brutal infrastructure"--

"A powerful argument for separating immigration enforcement from the criminal legal system, by one of the nation's foremost "crimmigration" experts"--

"The 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was supposed to be a stepping stone, a policy innovation announced by the White House designed to put pressure on Congress for a broader, lasting set of legislative changes. Those changes never materialized, and the people who hoped to benefit from them have been forced to navigate a tense and contradictory policy landscape ever since, haunted by these unfulfilled promises. Legal Phantoms tells their story. After Congress failed to pass a comprehensive immigration bill in 2013, President Obama pivoted in 2014 to supplementing DACA with a deferred action program (known as DAPA) for the parents of citizens and lawful permanent residents and a DACA expansion (DACA ) in 2014. But challenges from Republican-led states prevented even these programs from going into effect. Interviews with would-be applicants, immigrant-rights advocates, and government officials reveal how such failed immigration-reform efforts continue to affect not only those who had hoped to benefit, but their families, communities, and the country in which they have made an uneasy home. Out of the ashes of these lost dreams, though, people find their own paths forward through uncharted legal territory with creativity and resistance"--

"This book will contribute to the discourse on ways of increasing anti-racism, empowerment, and representation in the LIS field and beyond. It continues in the civil rights legacy of African American librarian pioneers including Dr. E.J. Josey, Dr. Virginia Lacy Jones, Dr. Carla Hayden, and Dr. Eliza Atkins Gleason"--

"Black and Queer on Campus is a ground-breaking account of queer Black experiences on college campuses, based on 65 interviews with Black LGBTQ students"--

"Following the killing of George Floyd in 2020, a moral panic gripped the US and UK. To atone for an alleged history of racism, statues were torn down and symbols of national identity attacked. Across universities, fringe theories became the new orthodoxy, with a cadre of activists backed by university technocrats adopting a binary worldview of moral certainty, sin and deconstructive redemption through Western self-erasure. This hard-hitting book surveys these developments for the first time. It unpacks and challenges the theories and arguments deployed by 'decolonizers' in a university system now characterized by garbled leadership and illiberal groupthink. The desire to question the West's sense of itself, deconstruct its narratives, and overthrow its institutional order is an impulse that, ironically, was underpinned by a more confident and assured Western hegemony, which is now waning and under great strain. If its light continues to dim, who or what will carry the torch for human freedom and progress?"

The Supreme Court must reverse the judgments of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the District Court for the District of Columbia, and the orders of the District Court for the Eastern District of New York, preventing the Department of Homeland Security from winding down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy.

The fate of Dreamers, those brought to the United States as children, is on uncertain ground as the U.S. Supreme Court reviews the Trump administration’s decision to rescind DACA. However, the momentum of the youth-led immigrant rights movement gives hope that the law will follow.

Up-to-date information & resources for undocumented students

By Juan-Andrés Fuentes Migration and citizenship have become increasingly relevant topics of discussion both nationally and internationally. For instance, last February, the Albanian Congress appro…

Ageism and aging are getting more attention, due in part to the media’s unabashed negative commentary about the age of those running in the Presidential election, but also because gerontologi…

Stalking is a social and public health emergency. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Counterman v. Colorado makes things easier for abusers.

April is National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month and CSU has been honoring those affected by sexual assault and violence with programming and resources. Teal is the color of sexual assault awareness.

Autumn brings more than pumpkin spice and cooler weather—it also brings a time of reflection and support because October is National Domestic Violence Awareness & Prevention Month . This blog post shares definitions and statistics related to domestic violence, as well as information for a l

Our new in-depth guide is for frontline documenters utilizing video as evidence in cases involving sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

Vithai Zaraunkar Once my professor at Goa University said to me that I had changed a lot. “You were so quiet, seated on the last bench in the class, afraid to be noticed by teachers. You are not the same Vithai I met five years ago. Do you think you have changed?” I thought for a bit and replied

This blog post highlights community-led approaches to data collection on sexual and gender-based violence in the United States.

The Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion. Learn more in our blog post.

You've no doubt heard that the Supreme Court is considering a case that could overrule Roe v. Wade , 410 U.S. 113 (1973).*  Maybe you've be...

This article was updated on Dec. 1 at 5:15 p.m. It has been nearly 30 years since the Supreme Court’s decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which reaffirmed the constitutional right to abortion that the court first recognized in Roe v. Wade. Only one justice who participated in Casey is still

This article was updated on June 24 at 3:11 p.m. The Supreme Court on Friday eliminated the constitutional right to obtain an abortion, casting aside 49 years of precedent that began with Roe v. Wade. The decision by Justice Samuel Alito will set off a seismic shift in reproductive rights across t

The National Women's History Alliance has designated the 2024 Women's History Month theme as "Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion”, recognizing women who work to “eliminate bias and discrimination entirely from our lives and institutions” and who are “committed to embracing every