Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professors Oscar Cabrera and Fanny Gomez-Lugo

J.D. Practicum 1071 | 4 credit hours

The course will focus on the interaction between international human rights law and sexual and reproductive health. The seminar will begin by providing an overview of the international human rights law as it pertains to sexual and reproductive rights. Then, the course will focus on access to reproductive health from an international perspective, examining States’ obligations in a variety of issues, such as maternal mortality or access to information on reproductive health matters. Finally, students will learn through coursework about other sexual and reproductive health issues linked to the right to dignity, autonomy and bodily integrity, such as rape as a means of torture and forced sterilization. Analyzing recent decisions emerging from regional and international human rights bodies, such as the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the UN CEDAW Committee (UN Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women), the seminar component will provide a solid legal foundation for students to develop their experiential/field placement projects.

On the experiential/field-work side, students will work with external partners on legal and policy projects related to sexual and reproductive health. Through the experiential learning component of the course, students will learn how to conduct a legal analysis of existing legal and regulatory frameworks for sexual and reproductive health from a human rights perspective. Students will also learn how to use epidemiological data to support and craft compelling human rights law arguments for advancing public policy on, for example, maternal mortality and sexual violence prevention and eradication. By working with external civil society organizations, such as the Center for Reproductive Rights and Women’s Link Worldwide, the course will give students the opportunity to develop practical projects using international human rights law to advocate for the advancement of sexual and reproductive health rights. Some of the projects may include, drafting amicus briefs for cases currently pending before international bodies, and drafting briefs assessing a particular State compliance with human rights law regarding sexual and reproductive rights to be filed in front of UN bodies (shadow reports).

Prerequisites: Students must complete the required first-year program prior to enrolling in this course (part-time and interdivisional transfer students may enroll prior to completing Criminal Justice, Property, or their first-year elective).

Students may not concurrently enroll in this practicum course and a clinic (except Street Law) or another practicum course. Students may concurrently enroll in this practicum course and an externship.

Students who wish to receive credit for the Externship Seminar and a practicum course that has the same field placement may do so only if: (1) the practicum course is taken in a semester following the Externship Seminar; and (2) the student receives permission from the Assistant or the Associate Dean for Clinical Programs. To receive such permission, the student must explain in writing how the practicum course field work would serve substantially different learning goals than did their externship field placement.

THIS IS A PRACTICUM COURSE.

This is a 4 credit course. 2 credits will be awarded for the 2-hour weekly seminar and 2 credits will be awarded for approximately 10 hours of supervised work per week, for a minimum of 11 weeks. The seminar portion will be graded.

Students who enroll in this course will be automatically enrolled in both the seminar and practicum components and may not take either component separately. A student wishing to withdraw from the course will be withdrawn from both the seminar and field work components.