Leslie Francis, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Alfred C. Emery Endowed Professor of Law, and Adjunct Professor in Political Science and in Medicine at University of Utah will speak on “States of Health: Federalism and Bioethics.”

Far from settling the issues it raised, the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs to withdraw federal constitutional protection for reproductive liberty has intensified conflicts about federalism. States opposed to abortion rights are seeking to govern what their residents do out of state or what others can bring or send into the state. Abortion opponents are going to court to erect nationwide barriers to the most common method of early abortion, medication abortion. On the other side, states are enacting statutes to protect providers who offer abortion care and the patients they treat. Theories of federalism offer justifications for policy variations among states, including experimentation, political and cultural differences, and the benefits of locating decisions closer to the people they will affect. In this talk, I will argue that none of these justifications support the failures of some states to recognize rights that are appearing in the wake of Dobbs. Moreover, under non-ideal circumstances protection of the right to travel assumes critical importance.

There will be a reception after the talk.

This event is a James Steintrager Lecture in Political Philosophy and Jurisprudence. It is supported by the Department of Philosophy and co-sponsored by the Center for Bioethics, Health and Society, the Department of Politics and Politics and International Affairs, and the School of Law Health Law and Policy Program.