Roe v. Wade Lecture and Student Showcase
Newcomb Institute’s annual Roe v. Wade Lecture commemorates the historic 1973 U. S. Supreme Court decision that recognized abortion as a constitutionally protected right. Every January, Newcomb Institute invites a nationally recognized scholar of reproductive rights to present their latest research. The series, which engages student groups such as Students United for Reproductive Justice, Social Workers for Reproductive Freedom, Med Students for Choice, Students United for Reproductive Freedom (School of Public Health), and If, When, How (School of Law), has brought to campus scholars from a variety of disciplines, including history, architecture, sociology, and law. The annual lecture is preceded by a student showcase with poster presentations by Newcomb Institute’s Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health Interns.
Save the Date:
Join us for Conceiving Equity 2026, with poster presentations by Newcomb Institute's student interns, followed by the annual Roe v. Wade Lecture with Jessica Valenti.
Jessica Valenti, author of the New York Times bestseller Abortion, is a writer, activist, and one of the country's most influential voices on gender and politics.
Thursday, January 22, 2026, 6 - 8 PM
Malkin Sacks Commons, Third Floor, Diboll Gallery (43 Newcomb Place, New Orleans, LA 70118)
The annual Roe v. Wade Lecture is supported by the Donna and Richard Esteves Fund for Women’s Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health.
2025 Elizabeth Dias and Lisa Lerer, authors of The Fall of Roe: The Rise of a New America
2024 Yasmin López, "Territory and Body - Women Leading the Fight for Reproductive Rights in Latin America"
2023 Kimala Price, “Reproductive Justice in a Post-Roe, Post-Dobbs World”
2022 Loretta J. Ross, “Reproductive Justice: Human Rights for the 21st Century”
2021 Diana Greene Foster, “Consequences of Receiving versus Being Denied a Wanted Abortion in the United States”
2020 Monica McLemore, "An Uncertain Future – The Way Forward to Ensure Abortion Care, Access, and Reproductive Justice"
2019 Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, "Women’s Reproductive Health and Economic Empowerment”
2018 J. Shoshanna Ehrlich, "(Re)producing the Maternal Ideal: Abortion Laws and the Romancing of Motherhood"
2017 Kimberly Kelly, “Abortion in the American South: Religion, Race, and Stigma”
2016 Rebecca Kluchin, “Maternal-Fetal Conflict in Post-Roe America”
2015 Lori Brown, “Contested Spaces: Abortion Clinic Design”
2014 Lynn Paltrow, “Interrogating the Differences between ‘Pro-Life,’ and ‘Pro-Lives’”
2013 Wendy Kline, “The Pelvic Instruction Controversy of the 1970s”
