Reproductive rights in Islam and America

10 Marconi,Irvine CA 92618

01 December, 2022

Description

In hosting this first-of-its-kind panel, MBASC invites you to join us in creating a thoughtful, respectful space in which all of us can find the power, knowledge, language, and tools to help us think through and productively discuss the deep, complex intersection of bodily autonomy, reproductive justice, and faith. The panel is a powerhouse, comprising of distinguished activists and educators who are leaders in their communities and fields. We are honored to host them. Kennedy Willis is a fellow at UCLA’s Center for Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy, who will describe the evolution of reproductive rights and the legal framework courts have used to analyze bodily autonomy. She will summarize the state of the law before Roe v. Wade was decided, the analysis in Roe, post-Roe challenges, the Court’s recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and post-Dobbs legal challenges. Asifa Quraishi-Landes is a professor of comparative Islamic law and U.S. constitutional law at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Her scholarship currently focuses on modern Islamic constitutional theory. Professor Quraishi-Landes will describe the sources of Islamic law and authority and share each Islamic school of law and sect’s position on bodily autonomy and a woman’s right to choose. Aliza Kazmi is a community organizer and the co-Executive Director of HEART, a nonprofit devoted to promoting sexual health, uprooting gendered violence, and advancing reproductive justice by establishing choice and access for the most impacted Muslims. Ms. Kazmi will focus on the disparate impacts of anti-abortion laws, the intersectionality of racial justice, economic justice, and disability justice issues, and post-Dobbs organizing efforts in and on behalf of the Muslim community. The discussion will be moderated by Hanna Chandoo, who is an activist, MBASC and CAIR-LA board member, and civil rights litigator at Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai LLP.