Many of us have been talking about the intersection of abortion and assisted reproduction for a couple of decades now, so I was glad to have a chance to talk about the issue on the Critically Speaking podcast!

This Juneteenth at NJPAC, you can be present for the release and discussion of the New Jersey Reparations Council’s groundbreaking report, For Such a Time as This: The Nowness of Reparations for Black People in New Jersey. Register here: www.njpac.org/event/the-no...

“It’s always a mistake to invite law enforcement into your reproductive life." #RutgersLaw Professor @professormutch.bsky.social weighs in on the new warning from a West Virginia prosecutor that women who have miscarriages could get in trouble with the law: www.cnn.com/2025/06/06/h... #lawsky

Pro tip: do not call the cops to tell them that you’ve had a miscarriage in a state that bans almost all abortions. Glad to be quoted here along with greats like @drkbrandi.bsky.social!!

Is Brooklyn in the house?! I hope so. Join James Forman Jr. and me for a conversation about transportation injustice, systemic racism, and how we can move forward to build back better for everyone. June 9th at 6:30 pm - www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/cbh...

In @nytopinion.nytimes.com “Over the last four months, the legal world — and the country — has been plunged into chaos, and the Supreme Court bears a heavy dose of responsibility,” writes Kate Shaw in a guest essay.

My guest essay for @nytimes.com about Adriana Smith. This situation is a tragedy from top to bottom, and there is so much complexity that can't be teased out in so few words. May she and the family left behind find peace soon. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/24/o...

On today’s agenda at LSA: New Books in The Field, featuring great books by @dsc250.bsky.social, @jillwieberlens.bsky.social, and @jrabrams.bsky.social among others. I’ll link to some of them below!

Update on Adriana Smith in GA. The AG has made clear that the state’s abortion law does NOT require that Ms. Smith remain on life support.

This is unconscionable and unethical and the claim that it is required under the state’s abortion law is cowardice at its finest. Claiming to be acting in the interest of a fetus that is gestating in a dead body is unbelievably awful and cruel. www.npr.org/2025/05/16/n...

This fucking administration.

Glass half empty: Currently stuck on an Amtrak train somewhere between Baltimore and DC, while something mysterious takes place that involved calling in the police and the coroner! This is not good. Glass half full: This train has some of the best non-Acela WiFi I’ve ever experienced.

Got to spend some time strategizing and smiling with some of my favorite people not so long ago. Grateful for their friendship and mentorship over many years!

Starting this morning listening to one of my favorite people and an incredible scholar, Khiara Bridges, deliver the keynote at Northeastern Law’s conference: 3 Years after Dobbs- The Reproductive Justice Landscape.

Very excited to share this symposium now available on Balkinization! And very proud to be a part of it: balkin.blogspot.com/2025/04/balk...

The party of life.

Weird move for the self-proclaimed “father of IVF.” 🙄

Yes, please.

Excited to spend some time in DC tomorrow to talk about my latest work in progress!

The vibe here is very: Elon was friends with his Black servants.

Happy International Women’s Day to all of the fabulous women out there who’ve dedicated themselves to fighting the fuckery in ways big and small!!

None of us can be sure what will “work.” You try multiple things and find your way in. Read some histories of the Civil Rights Movement by those who participated. They were never “sure” of what would work. Some campaigns fizzled out. But persistence, creativity, determination, and focus were key.

The hits keep coming (as they should).

ESSENTIAL: DO not take "buy out." Litigation underway: www.citizensforethics.org/legal-action...

I ugly chuckled at all of this and you KNOW how that sounds, Damien.

Say what you will about lawyers (and I've heard it all), but they are stepping the fuck up in this moment and doing so quickly: www.wired.com/story/federa...

One aspect of the abortion wars that always fires me up is the claim that faith is only relevant to people who oppose abortion access. Glad to see the Lawyering Project making clear that people of faith need abortion, support abortion, and provide abortions. lawyeringproject.org/our-work/202...

"What happened last night is the most direct assault on the authority of Congress, I believe, in the history of the United States. It is blatantly unconstitutional," Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) says of Trump's OMB halting all federal grants. "If this stands, then Congress may as well adjourn."

If only the impact of the policies the FAFO crowd voted for would solely be felt by the people who deserve to reap what they sow. The carnage has started but will only get worse as the grifters, incompetents, and charlatans really start to flex their completely undeserved and unearned power.

Apparently a culture of life means more women and infants dying. It’s possible that prolife doesn’t mean what the antis claim it means. 😡

So I’ve had my 1st Black History Month event cancellation because of “DEI concerns,” citing a fear of frivolous suits. Funny thing is, I don’t do DEI, I’m a historian of the Black American experience. A reminder that DEI is just a dog whistle about suppressing history, if you need a reminder.

Here's the thing, when a company makes it hard to cancel a subscription/membership etc., it only fuels my determination to cancel and never give them another dime.

I spoke with Soledad O'Brien about the escalating abortion wars under Trump 2.0 and his Project 2025 lackeys the other day. As always, lots of good stuff got cut for time, but here's what was left: youtu.be/FZIsxD62k8Y?...

Since we’ve been talking about snitches lately, can we talk about medical providers who turn in their pregnant or newly postpartum patients? www.themarshallproject.org/2024/12/11/p...

One thing I’m going to do when I’m in NYC is get off the subway and walk in exactly the wrong direction. It’s less embarrassing now than it was when I actually lived here.

NEW: Twenty-one former federal judges, including multiple former appeals court judges, urge President Biden to clear the federal death row. They include David Tatel (D.C. Cir.) and Diane Wood (7th Cir.), both of whom left the bench earlier this year. www.documentcloud.org/documents/25...

One of the things that I do at the end of my Bioethics, Babies & Babymaking class is reserve a class session just to talk about the topics/stories/readings that really resonated with the students over the course of the semester. It's always a great class!

This was longer than lots of interviews that I get asked to do, and there was still so much that I didn't get to say! Hopefully worth a listen anyway! legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/law...

What an absolute delight to hear the brilliant @lizchiarello.bsky.social in conversation with the always fabulous Dorothy Robert’s about her new book, Policing Patients! Buy it! Read it! Cite it! Learn from it!!

Imagine if the amount of energy and political will focused on attacking abortion access was instead focused on improving access to maternity care for people who actually want to be pregnant! It won’t happen, but imagine how revolutionary and transformative it would be if it did.

Started off this week by making a donation to @propublica.org! Their kind of journalism is going to be even more important as we enter the wilds of Trump 2.0.

Me: People are the worst. Also me: Initiating a 15 minute conversation with a stranger at the deli counter about her post-retirement life.

I really like writing for non-legal audiences, but I really hate using non-legal citation systems! The Bluebook is a nightmare, but it’s MY nightmare.

So strange that the only people who have identities worthy of critiquing as identity politics are POC, queer folks, and other marginalized people. Do people truly think that Trump wasn’t pandering to people with a very specific identity??? Come the f on!!

Okay, one of the things Twitter was really good for was sounding the alarm & driving calls to Congress when terrible legislation came up for a vote. Bluesky, IT'S TIME. H.R. 9495 would allow Trump to shut down any nonprofit by claiming they're "terrorists" www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/no-o...

The hotel that I just checked into offers a glass of wine/beer at check-in. Doubletree can keep their cookies.

I was very pleasantly reminded today of the 6 degrees of separation of Black folks. I’m wearing my ACLU of NJ shirt and a Black woman at the airport stopped me to let me know that she went to kindergarten with @deborahnarcher.bsky.social, ACLU President extraordinaire. Super random and delightful!

Me excitedly following everyone in the repro law profs starter pack that @dsc250.bsky.social created!

Delighted to see where things go on here as more and more folks flee the bad place!

The latest cover of the New Yorker: