In the immediate aftermath of Roe v. Wade and the legalization of abortion nationwide, in 1973, the U.S. Congress passed the first of what would become an expanding series of “religious exemptions” or “conscience clauses.”

These exemptions allow healthcare professionals to refuse to provide otherwise legal medical services or procedures because they violate the religious beliefs or “conscience” of the medical provider. In the intervening years, the range of issues covered by religious exemptions has expanded to include same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex parents as well as the removal of feeding tubes and other end-of-life care issues.

The frame for this one-day symposium is the broad array of constitutional, public policy, political, and ethical issues implicated in the practice of religious exemptions. The timing of the symposium—on the heels of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on the Affordable Care Act; in the midst of a general election campaign in which healthcare, reproductive rights, and same-sex marriage remain profoundly divisive issues; and just months before the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade—makes this discussion all the more urgent. 

Khiara M. Bridges, BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Elizabeth A. Castelli, BARNARD COLLEGE
Katherine M. Franke, COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL
Marcial Godoy-Anativia, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Janet R. Jakobsen, BARNARD COLLEGE
Louise Melling, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBER TIES UNION
Ann Neumann, THE REVEALER
Ann Pellegrini, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, INDIANA UNIVERSITY BLOOMINGTON
Diana Taylor, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Lois Uttley, THE MERGERWATCH PROJECTT

 

Hemispheric Institute of Performance & Politics
20 Cooper Square, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10003

Free, photo ID required

 

SCHEDULE
1:00 Welcome Marcial Godoy-Anativia, Ann Pellegrini, and Diana Taylor, NYU

1:15–2:30 Religious Liberty “versus”…?: Framing the Conflicts

Speakers:
Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, INDIANA UNIVERSITY BLOOMINGTON
Louise Melling, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

Moderator:
Katherine M. Franke, COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL

2:30–2:45 Break

2:45–4:00 “Contrary to religious beliefs or moral convictions”: Rights, Refusals, Responsibilities

Speakers:
Elizabeth A. Castelli, BARNARD COLLEGE
Lois Uttley, THE MERGERWATCH PROJECT

Moderator: 
Ann Neumann, THE REVEALER

4:00–4:15 Break

4:15–5:30 Unruly Bodies: Race, Sex, and the Moralization of Healthcare

Speakers:
Khiara M. Bridges, BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Janet R. Jakobsen, BARNARD COLLEGE

Moderator: 
Ann Pellegrini, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

5:30–6:00 Plenary discussion with audience