A Patient Struggles to Be Heard
Ann Tweedy
When Professor Ann Tweedy was diagnosed with breast cancer, she learned how disempowering it felt to be a patient, and the feelings of disempowerment and even dehumanization were more pronounced with some doctors than others. She discovered that on some level, being a patient is, at least on a de facto basis, synonymous with lacking autonomy, but that privilege and insurance still set her experience apart from those of other marginalized groups seeking healthcare. In this essay, she explores what it was like to become a patient; it is also a companion piece to her article, Insuring Breast Reconstruction, 66 UCLA L. Rev. Disc. 2 (2018).
Responsible Resource Development: A Strategic Plan to Consider Social and Cultural Impacts of Tribal Extractive Industry Development
Carla F. Fredericks, Kate Finn, Erica Gajda, and Jesse Heibel
The paper is a generalized strategic plan for tribes and other stakeholders to consider in combating the social impacts of extractive industry development. Although the plan is designed to be universal in scope and aspires to assist tribes throughout the country, it does not purport to take into account the unique complexities of individual Indian communities. The history, values, and research are examined to develop a process that will best suit a Native approach to each of the solutions presented, informed foremost by our relationship with the tribal community on Fort Berthold, as well as other tribes nationally. A cornerstone of the plan is that services that center on cultural identity and draw upon family connections are a preferred approach for Native peoples. Further, any approach to trafficking of Native women and children must take account of the colonial genesis of trafficking, generational trauma, and other risk factors.
The Way Pavers: Eleven Supreme Court-worthy Women
Meg Penrose
The Four Justices by Nelson Shanks (2012); courtesy of National Portrait Gallery
Amanda Knox, Her “Strange” Behavior, and the Italian Legal System
In this four-part series, Professor Martha Grace Duncan presents a new analysis of the much-studied case of Amanda Knox. Professor Duncan examines how human prejudice against “strangeness,” our desperation for a hasty assessment of guilt or innocence, and the hybrid Italian legal system led to Knox being twice-convicted for a crime she did not commit.
Student Commentary
The Use of Child Protective Services and Court Orders to Enforce Medical Compliance in the Labor and Delivery Room: How Threats of Legal Action Limit Reproductive Choice
by Alexa Richardson
In the wake of greater societal awareness about violations of bodily autonomy during childbirth, patients and their health care providers may be increasingly at odds in the labor and delivery room. Online Content Editors and Certified Professional Midwife, Alexa Richardson, argues that physicians’ resort to child protective services and court orders further limits reproductive health decision-making during the birthing process, and enforces an already unequal power relationship between health care providers and pregnant patients.
The Fight Over the ACA’s Contraceptive Coverage Mandate
by Charlotte Butash
On October 6th, the Trump Administration issued new regulations attacking the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that employers include free contraceptive coverage in their workplace health plans. In response to this development, advocacy groups across the country have taken to the courts to fight back to protect women’s health.