The Reproductive Rights Law Initiative (RRLI) at Case Western Reserve University School of Law aims to preserve, protect and expand access to abortion and reproductive health care in Ohio and throughout the Midwest. Directed by Associate Dean Jessie Hill, the RRLI provides legal support to abortion providers and advocacy organizations, with the ultimate goal of creating a sustainable legal infrastructure in support of reproductive rights in Ohio.
The RRLI works to preserve and advance the legal right of all Ohioans’ ability to make their own reproductive decisions through:
- Advocacy: By mounting legal challenges to abortion restrictions; engaging in proactive reproductive rights and justice work; defending against legal attacks on clinics and providers; and consulting with advocates who are working to effect change.
- Scholarship: By developing and deploying a rigorous academic infrastructure to influence current and future legal strategies for protecting reproductive autonomy.
- Education: By training and inspiring the next generation of attorneys with expertise in reproductive rights; offering public education efforts in the form of webinars, monthly and ad-hoc “breaking news” email updates, and regular law and policy “office hours”; and by serving as a much-needed information resource for information about reproductive health law and policy in Ohio.
As the only law school-based program of its kind outside the East and West coasts, the presence and visibility of the RRLI sends a compelling message about the importance of reproductive rights in the Midwest and the need to continue efforts to protect and expand them.