In early 2022 my longtime friend Nicole Huberfeld, a Professor of Law at Boston University, approached me about a potential symposium issue of the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics exploring the fiftieth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s famous Roe v. Wade decision. Our entire editorial staff thought it was great idea and eagerly began to help Nicole and her Boston University colleagues Aziza Ahmed and Linda C. McClain as they guest-edited the issue.
These plans were upended, of course; first by the unprecedented leak of the draft decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in May of 2022 and the release of the near-identical official Dobbs decision in June. This collection of papers, originally intended by the guest editors to “commemorate [Roe’s] fiftieth anniversary by exploring historical, legal, medical, and related dimensions of access to abortion as well as the challenges ahead to secure reproductive justice,” instead became something fundamentally different. The collection of papers you now hold in your hands does explore the anniversary of Roe; it also explores its demise. More importantly, it is a critical guide to a world where reproductive rights are now adjudicated by the states, with all of the challenges that foretells. As the guest-editors tell us, “Together the papers in this issue offer a glimpse into the vast and often uncharted legal and medical debates set into motion after Dobbs alongside the impact the decision will have on entrenching racial, gender, and class inequalities.” With its tremendous scope and multidisciplinary approach, we are proud to bring you this vital collection of papers.
This issue of JLME is also a very special one for us as it re-introduces a column we produced for many years, and dearly missed. “Teaching Health Law” will once again be a quarterly column in our pages, exploring teaching methods, teaching styles, ideas, collaborations, and best practices in teaching health law across a variety of disciplines. Edited by our friend, Professor of Law and Interim Dean at LMU Loyola Law School Brietta Clark, “Teaching Health Law” will surely join “Public Health Law,” “Health Policy Portal,” “Currents in Contemporary Bioethics,” and “Global Health Law” as must-reads in every issue of JLME. We hope you enjoy it!
