“Sauer started by offering, not statutory text or court precedents — you know, law — but instead a 1921 law review article. In response, Evan Bernick, a law professor, posted excerpts from that article to show that the solicitor general got it wrong.” www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/o...

So well said! 👇

Chip Carter & I went on the video series "Legal AF" with Court Accountability to talk about our new draft, "An Originalist Critique of Fetal Personhood." We weigh in on the debate of whether we should be engaging in originalism to combat these off-the-wall arguments. www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD9v...

Such a great book and so fun to get to write a response with @rebouche.bsky.social! Check it out!

I haven't been following the birthright citizenship case, but after spending the last year writing about fetal personhood, it strikes me that the right is trying to read birth out of the 14A in both directions. Immigrants born here shouldn't get rights but fetuses not yet born should.

Folks in DE/PA/NJ/etc, if you're looking for a great conversation on human dignity in current times, come to Delaware Law School's Dignity Law Symposium - The Role of the State in Protecting Human Dignity - on Friday April 10! succeed.widener.edu/register/?id...

Yvette Lindgren & I have a new essay recently accepted by Southern California Law Review! "The Post-Dobbs Abortion Irony" explores how abortion bans only seem to be chilling medically necessary abortions while everyday abortions are increasing everywhere. 1/4 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

I finally had a chance to sit down with this article. As others have noted, it is really, really good. It is hard to see how anyone can make a scholarly originalist case for fetal personhood after this. Def recommend reading it - some of my favorite parts are... 1/

I can't wait to read this!

How's that happen? @greerdonley.bsky.social and I have it all here in our article from late last year: From Medical Exceptions to Reproductive Freedom.

A narrow but important win in Indiana. Cracks in abortion bans start small, then they grow.

"An Originalist Critique of Fetal Personhood" w Chip Carter is officially online (& forthcoming in U. Penn. L. Rev.)! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers..... We scour 19th cen. dictionaries & the context in which the 14A was ratified to discover the original public & legal meaning of "person" in 1868.

On X, Josh Craddock is posting his critique of Reva Siegel's article on the weaknesses of arguments about fetal personhood: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... Read both papers and decide for yourself. :)

And when you are done, read this important piece by @greerdonley.bsky.social and Chip Carter on originalism and personhood: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Ally beat me to it, but excited to share that "Perinatal Palliative Care & Abortion," co-authored with @amwhelan.bsky.social, is forthcoming in the Virginia Law Review. Abstract below and it will be up on SSRN as soon as SSRN allows...

This is a great piece! You want originalism and abortion? Here it is. And it's now that you think.

It is such an honor for @ssrn.bsky.social to feature my work! Thank you to Apoorva Anand for getting to know my scholarship and for writing this up!

Excited to announce that “Perinatal Palliative Care & Abortion,” co-authored with the fabulous @jillwieberlens.bsky.social, will be published with Virginia Law Review… SSRN draft coming soon 😊

Thrilled that my article with William ("Chip") Carter, An Originalist Critique of Fetal Personhood, is now forthcoming in the Pennsylvania Law Review!!! It was weirdly fun to spend months buried in 19th century dictionaries & Locke's writings. We are still editing but hope to have it online soon!

NEW: After doctors sent her home with a racing heart, Ciji Graham came to believe the best way to protect her health was to end her pregnancy. But new restrictions in NC and nearby states made finding an abortion provider difficult. www.propublica.org/article/nort...

Great NYT piece showing that despite massive changes in law & policy after Dobbs, the # of abortions have increased every year. That could change quickly, but is quite remarkable. ⭐ quotes from @dsc250.bsky.social @carolejoffe.bsky.social @ushma.bsky.social & others. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...

If the Trump FDA does eventually tighten abortion pill regulation, all of these public quotes that identify it as a political decision will only make the arbitrary & capricious challenge stronger... bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-08/fda-slow-walking-a-long-awaited-abortion-pill-safety-study

My latest article, “A Non-Person Theory of the Fetus,” is finally online (forthcoming in Boston College Law Review). I have been thinking about this paper’s very tricky question for nearly 4 years, and I’m relieved it’s finally out in the world. 🧵👇 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Just saw this @greerdonley.bsky.social piece on SSRN. Haven't read it yet (downloaded!) but from the abstract it looks smart & interesting. In utero embryo fetus as property. I've LONG been irked by the law's unwillingness to call human "stuff" (not humans) property. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Excited to be part of tomorrow’s Fordham Law symposium on my amazing colleague @dsc250.bsky.social’s important new book with the wonderful Carole Joffe about how abortion providers have navigated the challenges of the post-Dobbs landscape. Join us! fordham.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

In a recent @jama.com viewpoint, CONVERGE’s @greerdonley.bsky.social + colleagues breakdown how 2 legal cases about mifepristone could have broad implications for FDA authority, state drug regulation, and biomedical innovation long term. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... #fda #mifepristone #research

It's not safe to be pregnant in Texas. Especially since everyone knew this would be the result of an abortion ban. But also, let's not forget - one of the 90+ doctors could have averted this. They are not off the hook just because Texas's law caused this.

Another preventable and tragic death because of Texas’s abortion ban. It reminds me of a quote from People v Belous, the 1969 California Supreme Court case that invalidated CA’s abortion ban before Roe. Though the ban had a life exception, the court still found that:

informative article with this hopeful kernel from @greerdonley.bsky.social :“Mifepristone manufacturer Danco Laboratories last year confirmed ongoing efforts to add miscarriage management as an approved use to its drug label. Were that to happen, it could be a game changer for access.”

Update on the interstate conflict over abortion. A NY court sided with a county clerk who refused to enter a motion to enforce Texas's judgment against a NY doctor. Why? The state's shield law prohibits him from helping Texas in its suit against NY doctor acting lawfully under NY's shield statute.

Great thread about the good decision in Hawaii yesterday. Too much attention has been paid to the antiabortion challenges to mife and not enough to the prochoice challenges to its overregulation. There's this case and two other federal cases - in Washington and in Virginia.

Finishing up arbitrary and capricious review for leg-reg this morning, where I had students read the 5CA alliance opinion w FDA's SCOTUS brief. Now my students can be really confused! Courts have found the mife REMS a&c b/c FDA failed to justify why it shouldn't have been stricter AND more lenient.

Good News that sounds like bad news: The District of Hawaii just found the FDA's 2023 mifepristone REMS modification unlawful and arbitrary & capricious! It's good news b/c the case was brought by medical orgs & docs arguing that FDA failed to justify why it kept strict & unnecessary REMS elements.

👇👇 Now in @jama.com: @greerdonley.bsky.social, Lewis Grossman & I explain that these preemption cases, while specifically about mifepristone, have implications for FDA and state drug regulation, biomedical innovation, and patient access more generally. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Curious what the 4th Circuit's opinion in GenBioPro v. Raynes means for state mifepristone regulation? Check out my new piece with @pzettler.bsky.social & Lewis Grossman in JAMA. We argue that preemption arguments are not dead, even though the court upheld WVA's abortion ban. 1/2

This is bad, but also interesting how hard republicans are having to work to pressure the FDA under Trump to make any changes to the mife regulation (litigation, appeals from AGs, senators, religious leaders, etc.) Suggests to me that they don't think it's already coming?

I think LA thinks it's found a great plaintiff for standing purposes here. But they haven't. For very clear reasons -- someone injured in the past like this doesn't have standing for future-looking injunctive relief. This woman can sue for damages for harm she suffered, but not for an injunction.

Good thread

Great thread about the "new" case challenging FDA allowing mailed abortion pills.

NEW-ish: Louisiana is suing FDA over its 2023 REMS change for mifepristone, which removed the in-person dispensing requirement. That change allowed mail or pharmacy dispensing of mife after significant data showed it was safe and effective. A few things to note about this new lawsuit.

@autonomynews.co received a tip yesterday about concerns that the FDA seemed to have made some sort of change regarding mifepristone. As it turns out, it wasn’t bad news—a new generic has been approved.

This is bonkers. The antiabortion movement has put a full court press on FDA to restrict mifepristone, and everyone is on edge that it will do so. So what does FDA do? It approves a new generic mifepristone without changing anything about the restrictions. Thank you RFK? ?!?!

NEW: On Tuesday, FDA approved a new generic for mifepristone from Evita Solutions. The FDA also modified the shared REMS for mifepristone to include the new generic. You can see the company's announcement here: www.evitasolutionsllc.com

I think David is exactly right, although I guess if I had to try to read the crystal ball, I'd lean in the direction that Trump will eventually do something on mifepristone. But it's unclear what, and it could take years. This letter buys them time to figure it out & make the political calculation.

🚨 Vote 11/4! -> State supreme court decisions determine our rights & freedoms! And we get to decide who makes those decisions! whyy.org/articles/pen...

Maria Rojas, a midwife in TX, was arrested in June for allegedly providing illegal abortions. But the indictment only has details about 1 case, which shows that Rojas was providing miscarriage care ‼️ The witness says Rojas prescribed misoprostol b/c she thought the pregnancy was not viable.

The KU Law Review is putting on a fantastic symposium this fall (10/17) entitled State Constitutions in Times of Federal Uncertainty. Schedule and registration link can be found here: law.ku.edu/academics/ha... Please share widely! We hope you can join us.

If the fetus is not a person under the constitution, what else might it be? I attempt to answer that question in my newest article, "A Non-Personhood Theory of Fetus," which is now forthcoming in Boston College Law Review. It's by far the hardest thing I've ever written. Hope to get it online soon!

Just received a letter that my promotion to full professor is now official! Huzzah! 🎉 My career would be nothing without the support I've received from mentors, colleagues, collaborators, friends, and family. I'm so grateful for all the people who have lifted me up and helped me get here. ❤️

NEW TODAY: Ken Paxton has filed a writ of mandamus in NY state court seeking to enforce the Texas court order against NY's abortion shield doctor.