An Essay on Sexual and Reproductive Rights Defenders


Areas of Expertise: Constitutional law, Reproductive Rights law and policy, Access post-Dobbs, Maternal health policy, fertility treatment access, Economic justice for pregnant people and families, the intersection of the criminal legal and family policing systems with reproductive health and families


Melissa Goodman is the Executive Director of the Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy (CRHLP) at UCLA Law, a think tank and research center created to meet the current national crisis in access to abortion while working towards long-term solutions to advance reproductive justice. Melissa is a nationally recognized expert in reproductive rights and gender equity constitutional law and policy. For the past 20 years Melissa has conducted and published research, crafted and helped implement new innovative laws and policy, devised creative legal and litigation strategies, and conducted public writing and speaking to expand access to reproductive rights and justice in the United States. Before joining CRHLP, Melissa was the Legal and Advocacy Director at the ACLU of Southern California, leading the organization’s 60 attorneys, policy advocates, organizers, and support staff in regional, statewide, and national civil rights and civil liberties work. Melissa spent a decade advancing reproductive justice, LGBTQ rights, and gender equity litigation and policy advocacy campaigns with the ACLU in California and New York. Melissa has a JD from NYU School of Law, and a BA in Politics and Urban Studies from NYU College of Arts and Science.

Professor Franklin is the McDonald/Wright Chair of Law at UCLA Law School and the Faculty Director of the Williams Institute and the Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy. She writes and teaches in the areas of Constitutional Law, LGBTQ+ Law, and Reproductive Rights and Justice. She is a frequent commentator on Supreme Court decisions and other developments at the federal and state levels in these areas.

Why History Matters: Reproductive Rights and Justice.

CRHLP is seeking UCLA law students to work with us on projects which may center on topics such as the reproductive rights of minors, increasing access to contraception at pharmacies, guaranteed payments to pregnant people and new parents, the privacy of reproductive health information, protecting access to medication abortion, and more.

This database demonstrates widespread opposition to the Dobbs decision, abortion bans, and restrictions on reproductive health care, including wider pregnancy and health care criminalization, from organizations representing a diverse array of industries, including health, medicine, law, education, labor, social science, and human rights, as well as private businesses, religious groups, and advocates.

For the 2024 Presidential Election, CRHLP has put together a series of explainers meant to explore key topics related to reproductive health, rights, and family planning that will be impacted by the Presidential election.

Amanda Barrow is a senior staff attorney with the Center on Reproductive Health, Law and Policy, a think tank and interdisciplinary research center that engages with community organizations, scholars, lawmakers, practitioners, and advocates to advance reproductive health, law, and policy. Her current areas of research and expertise include law and policy related to reproductive health care including abortion access, shield laws, health record and data privacy, and human rights law.


Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Post-Roe v. Wade

The Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy joined more than 40 organizations to create the California Future of Abortion Council. Comprised of sexual and reproductive health care providers, reproductive rights and reproductive justice advocacy organizations, legal and policy experts, researchers, and advocates, with the support of California ‘s Governor and Legislative leadership, the Council released a set of Recommendations to Protect, Strengthen, an Expand Abortion Services in California. We are proud to sign on to these recommendations and to work in partnership with others in the Council to ensure California remains a state where the rights of patients seeking abortion care, and those who support them, are protected.

10 Essential Essays About Womens Reproductive Rights

On Tuesday, June 14, 2022, Professor Cary Franklin provided testimony on behalf of SCA 10, a resolution which would amend the California State Constitution to "prohibit the state from denying or interfering with an individual’s reproductive freedom," "which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives."

Reproductive Justice as a Human Right

Efforts to ensure women's reproductive rights are not only an affirmation of bodily autonomy but also a step towards a more equitable and just society.

Reproductive Rights Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

On January 25, 2022, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion to ensure women’s access to quality reproductive health care services. The Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy has worked alongside Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health advocates to develop written recommendations on how Los Angeles County could respond now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned. The report, which contains a recommended path forward to ensure everyone who needs reproductive and sexual health services has a right to access a full spectrum of care, features the CRHLP study which estimates that now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, an additional 10,600 people will travel to California each year for abortion care.

Reproductive Justice After Roe

Grassroots activism, coupled with legal victories, has the potential to create lasting change and ensure that women's reproductive rights are upheld as a cornerstone of healthcare equity.