Participants in a panel on “Models from Abroad” compare women’s political participation worldwide.
When will women have the floor
The 113th Congress now has 20 female senators, including former HLS Professor Elizabeth Warren, the most ever in U.S. history, yet women still make up only 19 percent of Congress and hold only five governorships in the country. On Feb. 8, the Women’s Law Association hosted a conference, with keynote speaker Stephanie Schriock, the president of EMILY’s List, to discuss harmful effects of the persistent underrepresentation of women in leadership positions and to present potential strategies for closing the gender gap in the future.
What is marriage?
Harvard Law Professor Richard Fallon moderated a debate between Sherif Girgis and Andrew Koppelman on same-sex marriage on Jan. 31. The debate, sponsored by the Harvard Federalist Society, took place in Ames Courtroom and was recorded by C-SPAN. Girgis, a law student at Yale and co-author of “What Is Marriage?: Man and Woman: A Defense,” argued against same-sex marriage, saying the issue is about defining marriage, not equality. Koppelman, a professor of law and political science at Northwestern and author of “Defending American Religious Neutrality,” made his case in favor of same-sex marriage.
HLS in 9th Circuit territory ...
Mary Triik ’13 and Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic Director and HLS Clinical Professor Deborah Anker worked together on an amicus brief, with the law firm Akin Gump, in support of asylum for a Salvadoran girl who was fighting against deportation from the U.S. Rocio Brenda Henriquez-Rivas had implicated gang members in her father’s murder in El Salvador and feared retribution if she returned to the country. The amicus brief was submitted to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as part of the petition for review in the case of Henriquez-Rivas v. Holder. The Board of Immigrations Appeals denied asylum because she was not a member of a particular social group. In February, in a 9-2 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the decision and sent the case back to the BIA for reconsideration. The new decision could pave the way to asylum for many other immigrants who are facing similar fates in their home countries. Circuit Judge Carlos T. Bea, who immigrated with his family from Spain to Cuba before coming to the U.S., wrote the opinion for the court.
Elhauge and Gruber reviewed Obamacare and healh care reform. Cohen (right) discussed personhood amemdments and contraceptives coverage.
Health Law: Year in P/Review
The past year was a historic one for health law, with the Supreme Court issuing the final word on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act alongside a host of other critical developments. On Feb. 1, the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics held its first annual Health Law Year in P/Review event, bringing together leading experts to review some of the most important changes in the health law landscape over the past year, their implications for the future and a preview of what is to come. Presenters included HLS Professors Einer Elhauge ’86 and I. Glenn Cohen ’03, MIT Economics Professor Jonathan Gruber, and Northeastern Law Associate Dean Wendy Parmet ’82.
Vice Dean Livingston Hall ’27 greets the first class of women in 1950.
Help us Celebrate!
On September 27 to 29, 2013, Harvard Law School will host Celebration 60 to mark the sixtieth anniversary of women graduates at Harvard Law School. Please email Celebration60@law.harvard.edu or call 617-384-9523 for more information.
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