Ļć½¶Ö±²„Institute for the Humanities events will examine Texas, Mississippi reproductive rights cases on Nov. 9 and Nov. 17
Contact: John Burrow
STARKVILLE, Miss.āTwo upcoming Mississippi State Institute for the Humanities Facebook live events will explore how the recently passed Texas law regarding abortion affects Mississippians and adds to the national discussion on reproductive rights.
Hosted live on MSUās Institute for the Humanities , āReproductive Rights in the Age of COVID: what the Texas law means for Mississippiā takes place on Tuesday [Nov. 9] at 3:30 p.m.
A separate Ļć½¶Ö±²„Institute for the Humanities Facebook live event on Nov. 17 at 3:30 p.m., āDobbs v. Jackson Womenās Health Organization: the Changing Social and Constitutional Landscape,ā will invite a representative from the Mississippi Attorney Generalās office and an independent academic legal analyst to discuss the upcoming case that will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 1.
Both events are free and open to the public.
Sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciencesā Gender Studies Program and Institute for the Humanities, the Nov. 9 event features David Cohen, a reproductive rights attorney and professor of law at Drexel University, as well as Carole Joffe, a professor of sociology at the University of California San Francisco as they discuss the Texas SB 8 law and Dobbs v. Jackson Womenās Health Organization.
Discussion will be led in the Nov. 9 event by Gender Studies Director Kimberly Kelly, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology, and Julia Osman, director of the Institute for the Humanities and an Ļć½¶Ö±²„associate professor of history.
Kelly said both speakers have āseveral decades of practical and research experienceā on the topic of abortion, healthcare and reproductive rights and their expertise will help highlight the current lawsuit in Mississippi, Dobbs v. Jackson Womenās Health Organization, regarding the constitutionality of aĀ 15-week abortion ban.
āUnusually, the Supreme Court decided to hear the case,ā said Kelly. āMany attorneys and academics, including myself, believe the Court is signaling a willingness to consider overturningĀ Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion across the U.S. This event should help audiences make sense of the rapidly changing abortion landscape and the potential legal and social changes heading our way.ā
āDr. Joffe and Professor Cohen recently published a book,Ā āObstacle Course:Ā The Everyday Struggle to Get an Abortion in America,ā (University of California Press, 2020)Ā that covers the targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) laws, financial and logistical hurdles, and stigma surrounding abortion,ā said Kelly. āI assigned the book in my Sociology of Reproduction seminar and invited them to speak to the class virtually. It was such a success.ā
For additional questions about the event, contact Osman at humanities@msstate.edu.
The Institute for the Humanities promotes research, scholarship and creative performances in the humanistic disciplines and raises their visibility, both within Ļć½¶Ö±²„and the wider community. The instituteās activities include bringing prominent individuals in the humanities to the university campus, support for faculty research initiatives, and public outreach through scholarship and innovative teaching.Ā
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