Professor Ikemoto Publishes Commentary on Supreme Court Healthcare Case

Professor Lisa Ikemoto published an essay in Jurist on  Zubik v. Burwell, the U.S. Supreme Court case in which a group of religious organizations are challenging the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive coverage requirement.

In the article, Professor Ikemoto provides background on the case and summarizes the oral arguments, noting that the Court has taken the unusual step of directing the parties to file additional briefs that may indicate that the Justices' decision may hinge on whether religious organizations receive the same protections as churches under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Ikemoto writes. 

"What should be notable is that because the parties to the case are religious employers and the federal government, people who use contraceptives-mostly women-are positioned as third parties," Ikemoto writes. "Yet, the so-called third parties have a significant stake in this case: health, autonomy, and equality. When you set aside the analogies and hypotheticals, the case positions women between the privatization of health care and the religious beliefs of others."

Lisa Ikemoto, Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Law the UC Davis School of Law, has written extensively on genetic and reproductive technology, the regulation of fertility and pregnancy, and race and gender disparities in health care. Her current work examines emerging issues in regenerative medicine, including stem cell research, and the human tissues market.