Three USI departments partnering with Indiana American Civil Liberties Union to host talk on reproductive rights

The University of Southern Indiana Gender Studies Department, Center for Social Justice Education and the College of Liberal Arts are hosting a two-part virtual series, “Your Reproductive Rights After Dobbs.” The first presentation will begin at 3 p.m. Tuesday, October 4, with the second presentation beginning at 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, October 19. Each session will be followed by a Q&A. These events are free and open to the public and can be viewed on Zoom on a first come, first serve basis up to 1,000 participants. 

Event organizers say that after the Supreme Court struck down the Roe v. Wade decision on June 24, several states, including Indiana, passed laws restricting or prohibiting reproductive rights. Each state’s laws vary and punish different people, leaving many questioning what will happen if they become pregnant and want to terminate the pregnancy. Will they be held criminally liable after experiencing a miscarriage? Will people face prison if they cross state lines to obtain an abortion? Will abortion pills still be accessible? What will the post-Roe legal landscape look like? These, and many more questions, are being considered. 

In part one of the series on October 4, Caitlin Teague, Reproductive Freedom Advocate of the Indiana American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Katie Blair, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at the Indiana ACLU, will present “What the Indiana abortion law means for me” addressing the Indiana law and who will face punishment. 

“The goal of this series is to raise awareness about the legal rights of faculty, staff and students on USI’s campus in the wake of the dismantling of federal abortion protections and the state of Indiana’s determined efforts to restrict women’s reproductive rights,” says Dr. Denise Lynn, Professor of History and Director of Gender Studies. 

The series will continue with part two on October 19 featuring Dr. Grace Howard, Assistant Professor of Justice Studies at San José State University, on Wednesday, October 19. Howard is an expert on the criminalization of pregnancy. Her talk, titled “The Pregnancy Police: Conceiving Crime, Arresting Personhood,” will discuss the legal ramifications of policing pregnancy. 

For more information, contact Denise Lynn at 812-465-1095 or dmlynn1@usi.edu.