Religious Exemptions, Sexual Freedom, and the Biopolitics of U.S. Healthcare
an afternoon symposium
October 5, Friday
1 to 6 pm
Confirmed Participants:
Khiara M. Bridges, Boston University
Elizabeth A. Castelli, Barnard College
Katherine Franke, Center for Gender & Sexuality Law, Columbia Law School
Janet R. Jakobsen, Barnard Center for Research on Women, Barnard College
Louise Melling, Deputy Legal Director, American Civil Liberties Union
Ann Neumann, Editor, The Revealer and journalist
Ann Pellegrini, New York University
Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, Religious Studies, Indiana University Bloomington
Lois Uttley, MergerWatch
In the immediate aftermath of Roe v Wade and the legalization of abortion nation-wide, in 1973, the US Congress passed the first of what would become an expanding series of “religious exemptions” or “conscience clauses.” These exemptions allow providers of healthcare to refuse to permit otherwise legal medical services or procedures, because they violate the religious beliefs or “conscience” of the medical provider. In the intervening years, the range of issues covered by religious exemptions has expanded to include same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex parents as well as the removal of feeding tubes and other end of life care issues. The frame for this one-day symposium is the broad array of constitutional, public policy, political, and ethical issues implicated in the practice of religious exemptions in both federal law and US states. The timing of the symposium – on the heels of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on the affordable care act; in the midst of a general election campaign in which health care, reproductive rights, and same-sex marriage remain profoundly divisive issues; and just months before the 40th anniversary of Roe – makes this discussion all the more urgent.
Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics
20 Cooper Square, 5th Floor
free and open to the public, i.d. required for entry to building
co-sponsored by the NYU Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics and the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality
SCHEDULE
1:00 Welcome Marcial Godoy-Anativia, Ann Pellegrini, and Diana Taylor, NYU
1:15–2:30 Religious Liberty “versus”…?: Framing the Conflicts
Speakers:
Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, INDIANA UNIVERSITY BLOOMINGTON
Louise Melling, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
Moderator: Katherine M. Franke, COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL
2:30–2:45 Break
2:45–4:00 “Contrary to religious beliefs or moral convictions”: Rights, Refusals, Responsibilities
Speakers:
Elizabeth A. Castelli, BARNARD COLLEGE
Lois Uttley, THE MERGERWATCH PROJECT
Moderator: Ann Neumann, THE REVEALER
4:00–4:15 Break
4:15–5:30 Unruly Bodies: Race, Sex, and the Moralization of Healthcare
Speakers:
Khiara M. Bridges, BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Janet R. Jakobsen, BARNARD COLLEGE
Moderator: Ann Pellegrini, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
5:30–6:00 Plenary discussion with audience
