University of Pennsylvania — Penn Center for Public Health

Event Highlights: Tracie D. Hall, an esteemed leader and former Executive Director of the American Library […]

On October 10th, we continued the 2022-2023 Penn Center for Public Health Seminar Series with reproductive rights attorney, Kathryn Kolbert. In her long and esteemed career advancing women’s rights, Kolbert has appeared twice before the United States Supreme Court, including arguing the landmark abortion case Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

In the seminar, “Protecting Reproductive Rights & Health in a Post-Roe Era,” Kolbert addressed the rapidly changing legal landscape of U.S. reproductive freedoms in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. She discussed the immediate impact of Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in eliminating a constitutional right to abortion, which quickly enabled 12 states to completely prohibit abortion and 10 others to severely limit access. She also highlighted the grave implications of these laws on people’s health and wellbeing, and the disproportionate impact they will have on marginalized and socially vulnerable populations.