Solomon Center Hosts Expert Conversation on Reproductive Care in Religious Hospitals
The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy and the Yale Health Law and Policy Society (YHeLPS) co-sponsored a panel on Apr. 7 on the legal, ethical, and policy issues surrounding reproductive health care in religious hospitals. The event was moderated by law student and YHeLPS board member Claudia Opper ’27.
The panel brought together experts representing academia, impact litigation, and policy advocacy. Panelists were Dr. Christine Ryan, director of the Reproductive Justice Project at the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School; K.M. Bell, senior litigation counsel at the National Women’s Law Center; and Liz Gustafson, Connecticut state director of the non-profit organization Reproductive Equity Now Connecticut.
The speakers addressed the growing prevalence of religious hospitals across the United States and the implications of that trend for reproductive health care access. These institutions play a significant role in healthcare for tens of millions of Americans every year: approximately one in five hospital beds in the country is located in a religious hospital, while four of the 10 largest U.S. hospital chains by number of beds are Catholic.
The discussion, which drew dozens of students from across Yale’s schools of law, medicine, public health, and management, concluded with an audience Q&A session.
About the Solomon Center
The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School is the first of its kind to focus on the intersection of law and the governance, practice, and business of health care. The center brings together leading experts and practitioners from the public and private sectors to address cutting-edge questions of health law and policy, and to train the next generation of top health lawyers, industry leaders, policymakers, and academics.
