Dean Greene Participates on Panel Discussing Future of Right to Constitutional Privacy Post-Dobbs

MSU College of Law Dean Linda Greene joined legal experts on constitutional privacy for a discussion on the future of the right to privacy in a post-Dobbs era. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the United States Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade that had guaranteed reproductive choice for women. The panel discussion was the first in a series of events hosted by the Chicago Bar Association’s (CBA) 150^thAnniversary Rule of Law Program.

CBA President Ray J. Koenig III, Camilla Taylor, Dean Linda Greene, Colleen Connell, Terri Mascherin

The panelists provided a historical overview of the legal landscape both pre- and post-Roe v. Wade. Dean Greene kicked off the event by examining the legal landscape prior to Dobbs in her presentation on “Constitutional Privacy and Abortion Before Dobbs.” She explored historic legal cases from the 1920s that laid the foundation for Roe v. Wade and discussed Roe and important cases that interpreted Roe through 2020. Dean Greene also reviewed the changing composition of the U.S. Supreme Court that shaped the court’s philosophy after Roe in 1973 until Dobbs in 2022.

Two constitutional privacy experts discussed the Dobbs decision and its potential to change other areas of constitutional privacy including marriage equality, parental control over minors’ medical decisions, and access to birth control. Colleen Connell, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, and Camilla Tayler, Deputy Legal Director for Litigation at Lambda Legal, discussed Dobbs potential. The expert moderation of this Rule of Law Program was Terri Mascherin, Partner at Jenner & Block LLP.

The CBA is one of the oldest and most active metropolitan bar associations in the United States according to the organization’s website. Founded in 1874, the Association has over 17,000 members.