I. Policing Pregnancy: The History of Personhood
In Part One, we will discuss the long fight over who is a person in America. We know undoing Roe v. Wade was just a step for the anti-abortion movement. The larger goal is to make embryos and fetuses legal “people” under the 14th Amendment, which would make abortion laws unconstitutional and attack the bodily autonomy of all pregnant people.
Thursday, September 25 | 3-4 pm Eastern Time
Register here.
Learn more in:
Personhood: The New Civil War over Reproduction by Mary Ziegler.
In Part Two, hear from the Pregnancy Justice research team, along with state-based advocates and practitioners, as we launch our latest findings on pregnancy-related criminal charges in the first two years after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Tuesday, September 30 | 3-4pm Eastern Time
II. Pregnancy Justice Applauds the American Bar Association for Adopting a Resolution Opposing Punishment Related to Pregnancy or its Outcome
NEW YORK – On August 12, the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates passed a resolution opposing laws that impose civil or criminal penalties based on actions during pregnancy or its outcome. We commend the ABA on Resolution 518, which takes a critical stand by the nation’s largest voluntary association of lawyers against the increasing criminalization and punitive treatment of pregnancy that threatens fundamental rights, undermines public health by discouraging individuals from seeking medical care, and worsens devastating maternal and infant health outcomes.
In the year following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs, at least 210 people were criminally charged for their actions during pregnancy, based on the potential, actual, or perceived impact on their pregnancy or its outcome. By opposing laws that allow such prosecutions and other forms of punishment, and advocating for laws that prohibit them, we hope this resolution provides a foundation for the ABA to educate and engage the legal profession and take additional steps to protect the rights of pregnant people.
SOURCE: Pregnancy Justice, 13 August 2025.