KU experts can discuss Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, implications for abortion law, constitutional rights


LAWRENCE — In a historic ruling, the Supreme Court announced Friday morning it had overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that guaranteed access to abortion across the country. The decision means that states across the nation will have a patchwork of laws on where abortions are legal and where they are not. University of Kansas experts are available to discuss the ruling and its implications with media.

Alesha Doan

Alesha DoanAlesha Doan, professor of public affairs & administration and of women, gender & sexuality studies, is available to speak with media about the ruling, its implications, state-by-state abortion policy, the history of Roe v. Wade and the anti-abortion movement, and related topics.

“This ideologically motivated decision by the Supreme Court will result in legal chaos and a reproductive public health crisis for decades to come. The state’s willingness to strip people — women in particular — of their human rights to bodily autonomy will have lasting repercussions, and this intrusion into people’s lives will not end with abortion,” she said.

Doan has conducted research and written articles on abortion policy, law, tactics of anti-abortion activists and more, including the books “Abortion Regret: The New Attack on Reproductive Freedom,” “The Politics of Virginity: Abstinence in Sex Education” and “Opposition and Intimidation: The Abortion Wars and Strategies of Political Harassment.”

Richard Levy

Richard LevyRichard Levy, J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law, can discuss the constitutional implications of the ruling, the role of precedent at the high court, the implications of the ruling for the state of Kansas and more.

“The decision in Dobbs frees states to ban abortions throughout a woman’s pregnancy without any exceptions for rape and incest, severe fetal abnormalities or health risks to women. It thus raises the stakes for the pending amendment that would eliminate abortion rights under the Kansas Constitution,” Levy said. “The majority’s reasoning in Dobbs also casts doubt on many other privacy-related rights, including the rights of same-sex couples and the right of access to contraceptives.”

Levy is a constitutional law expert who frequently speaks with media on topics such as school finance litigation, abortion rights and same-sex marriage. He joined KU Law faculty in 1985, having received his law degree with honors from the University of Chicago Law School. Before joining the faculty, he served as a clerk for Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In teaching and research, he has focused on constitutional law, administrative law and government institutions. Levy is a prolific researcher scholar who was named a Postlethwaite Research Fellow, 1996-1999, and was named the inaugural J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law in 2007.

To schedule an interview with Doan or Levy, contact Mike Krings at 785-864-8860, mkrings@ku.edu or @MikeKrings.

Fri, 06/24/2022

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Mike Krings

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