The Birnbaum Women's Leadership Center's 2026 Dechert Symposium: “Constitutional Equality: The ERA and the Promise for Reproductive Rights and Justice," organized by the ERA Project, explores the intersection of the Equal Rights Amendment and reproductive rights through constitutional, comparative, and practical lenses. With declarations from President Biden and the American Bar Association that the ERA is the "law of the land" as the 28th Amendment, wins at the local level as more states adopt ERA language into their Constitutions, and international actors setting new gender equality standards, this first-of-its-kind gathering examines how constitutional equality provisions can strengthen protections for bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom. RSVP HERE.
The Day’s Program
8:30 AM – 8:50 AM Registration & Welcome (Breakfast served)
9:00 AM – 9:15 AM Opening Remarks
9:15 AM – 10:45 AM Panel 1: Constitutional Foundations of Equality
Speakers: Stephanie Toti (The Lawyering Project), Greer Donley (University of Pittsburgh School of Law), Khiara M. Bridges (University of California, Berkeley School of Law), Kate Redburn (Columbia Law School)
Moderator: Kimberly M. Mutcherson (Rutgers Law School)
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Panel 2: Learning from State ERAs
Speakers: David S. Cohen (Drexel University Kline School of Law), Ming-Qi Chu (ACLU), Katharine Bodde (NYCLU), Jess Braverman (Gender Justice), Diana Kasdan (UCLA School of Law)
Moderator: Katherine Grainger (Civitas, North Star Project)
12:30 AM – 12:45 PM Lunch buffet begins
12:45 PM – 1:45 PM Lunchtime Conversation and Fireside Chat
Melissa Murray (NYU School of Law and BWLC Faculty Director)
Jennifer Klein (Columbia SIPA)
Jamia Wilson (Random House & Ordinary Equality Podcast)
Moderator: Ting Ting Cheng (ERA Project, NYU School of Law)
1:45 PM – 2:00 PM Announcement
2:15 PM – 3:30 PM Panel 3: International Constitutional Perspectives
Speakers: Aleta Sprague (Equal Futures), Paula Ávila-Guillen (Women’s Equality Center), Julie Suk (Fordham School of Law), Christine Ryan (Columbia Law School)
Moderator: Luna Borges (Columbia Law School)
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM Closing Remarks
Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04)
4:00 pm – 4:30 PM Cocktail Reception (Light refreshments)
Panel Descriptions
Panel 1: Constitutional Foundations of Equality: “How the ERA Transforms Constitutional Analysis”
This opening panel examines how the ERA would fundamentally alter constitutional analysis of sex discrimination cases. As a new addition to the Constitution, the ERA's adoption would create space for an entirely new category of judicial review for sex discrimination cases, unencumbered by previous levels of scrutiny schema. Moving beyond the privacy-based framework that dominated reproductive rights jurisprudence from Roe through Dobbs, this panel establishes the theoretical foundation for understanding reproductive rights as fundamentally rooted in sex equality principles—a constitutional right grounded not in substantive due process but in explicit guarantees of equal treatment regardless of sex. The panel will examine how "sex" under the ERA encompasses pregnancy, reproductive capacity, and bodily autonomy as core elements of constitutional equality rather than peripheral privacy interests, positioning reproductive autonomy not as an individual liberty subject to state balancing tests, but as an equality right that cannot be compromised. The panel will additionally discuss how reproductive rights and bodily autonomy under an ERA framework would fundamentally shift sex discrimination from anti-classification approaches (simply prohibiting sex-based categories) toward anti-subordination constitutional interpretation that actively dismantles systemic gender hierarchy.
Panel 2: Learning from State ERAs: “Lessons for Federal Constitutional Protection of Reproductive Rights”
This panel examines real-world applications of state-level Equal Rights Amendments and their impact on reproductive rights litigation and policy. Twenty-nine states have some form of an ERA in their state constitutions, providing crucial insights into how constitutional equality provisions function in practice. State courts in Connecticut, New Mexico, Nevada, and Pennsylvania have found that laws prohibiting Medicaid coverage of abortions violate their state-ERAs in their state constitutions.
Panel 3: International Constitutional Perspectives: “Global Constitutionalism and Reproductive Rights: International Models for ERA Implementation”
This concluding panel places the U.S. ERA debate within global constitutional frameworks for sex equality and reproductive rights. Twenty-seven domestic constitutions have enshrined at least one aspect of the right to sexual and reproductive health, offering valuable comparative insights. The majority of the world's countries affirm legal equality of the sexes in their governing documents, providing models for ERA implementation.
For attendees seeking further reading and resources on the topics of the Symposium, please check out this drive!