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Writing Competitions for Law Students: Reproductive Rights & Justice (New Student Scholarship)

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Sponsors/facilitators of student writing competitions provide more detailed instructions and rules at their websites.  Students need to review the information and rules available at these websites.

New Student Scholarship in Reproductive Rights & Justice

Writing Prize for New Student Scholarship in Reproductive Rights & Justice (annual) - In future, check News at the website of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice.

  • Sponsors: If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, the Center for Reproductive Rights, & the Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice.
  • Theme in 2024 was: "The theme for this year is 'How Can Reproductive Justice End Family Policing.'  The post-Roe landscape has amplified the connection between attacks on reproductive autonomy and family integrity. More so than ever, people are being forced to remain pregnant and subsequently punished by the family policing system–or the so-called 'child welfare' system– for raising children without the necessary support or resources.  Rather than providing support, the family policing system acts as a site of reproductive coercion and control, particularly for Black, Latine, and Indigenous families, and other marginalized communities.  We encourage students to envision creative and expansive approaches to ending family policing and securing the right to parent the children we have in safe communities, a fundamental tenant of the Reproductive Justice framework.  Submissions might explore topics such as mandatory reporting, pre- or post-natal drug testing, other legal and policy approaches to curtailing the reach of the family policing system, and/or highlight critical intersections between reproductive justice and family regulation."
  • Format requirements in 2024 included: "Papers must be at least 10 pages in length (not including footnotes), double-spaced in 12-point font with footnotes in 10-point font, conforming to Bluebook citation format.  Only original scholarship by current J.D. or LL.M. law students or recent 2024 graduates will be accepted.  Papers being considered for publication elsewhere are ineligible for the first-place prize but may be considered for second and third place."
  • Prizes in 2024 were: "Winning authors will receive cash prizes: $750 (1st place), $500 (2nd place), or $250 (3rd place), and a copy of the textbook, Cases on Reproductive Rights and Justice (Murray & Luker). The first-place winning submission will also be granted a “presumption of publishability” and receive expedited review by the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice."
  • Deadline for submission in 2024 was: November 18, 2024.