facebook pixel
Skip to Main Content
Boston University School of Law

  • Academics
  • Admissions & Aid
  • Faculty & Research
Search
  • Current Students
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Alumni
  • Employers
  • Journalists
Search
  • Academics
    • Academic Enrichment Program
    • Find Degrees and Programs
    • Explore Your Options
    • Study Abroad
    • Academic Calendar
  • Admissions & Aid
    • JD Admissions
    • Graduate Admissions
    • Tuition & Fees
    • Financial Aid
    • Visits & Tours
  • Faculty & Research
    • Faculty Profiles
    • Activities & Engagements
    • Centers & Institutes
    • Faculty Resources
  • Experiential Learning
    • Clinics & Practicums
    • Externship Programs
    • Simulation Courses
    • Law Journals
    • Moot Court
  • Careers & Professional Development
    • Judicial Clerkship Program
    • Career Advising for Graduate Students
    • Employment Statistics
    • Legal Career Paths
    • Public Service Programs
  • Student Life
    • Law Student Well-Being
    • Law Student Organizations
    • Boston Legal Landscape
  • Law Libraries
    • About the Libraries
    • A-Z Database List
    • Institutional Repository
  • About BU Law
    • Offices & Services
    • Meet the Dean
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    • Visit Campus
  • News & Stories
    • All Stories
    • Faculty in the News
    • Collections
    • Past Issues of The Record

Want to Support BU Law?Learn how you can give back


Latest Stories From The Record

Healthcare

From the ICU to BU Law

Read more
LLM in American Law

Returning to Where It All Began

Read more
Student Life

Involved and Uplifted

Read more
Al-Johani-“Aljon”-Gandamato-photo-cropped
LLM in Banking and Financial Law

Banking on Boston

Read more
The Record
News & Stories from BU Law
  • Issues
  • All Stories

POV: SCOTUS Exposes the TRAP Laws Charade

Wendy Mariner considers the Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt decision “a victory for reproductive rights” in this opinion piece for BU Today.

Wendy MarinerThe US Supreme Court’s decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt finally took women and their reproductive health seriously. After decades of simply accepting legislative claims that laws restricting abortion services were intended to protect women, the court took off the blinders and faced reality. Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws, like the Texas law before the court (described here), are promoted by abortion opponents and designed not to protect women’s health, but rather to reduce and discourage abortion services. They do not improve the safety of medical procedures. They make it more difficult for women to access reproductive health care.

This has been obvious to public health and medical professionals. When Justices Thurgood Marshall and Harry Blackmun were on the court, they reminded their brethren of how their legal decisions could work hardships on the most vulnerable, especially the poor and women of color. But in recent decades, in the rarified air of the Supreme Court, debate has been couched in doctrinal abstractions, and the real world effects of legislation have rarely been considered.

Read the full story.

Explore Related Topics:

  • Commentary
  • SCOTUS
  • Share this story

Share

POV: SCOTUS Exposes the TRAP Laws Charade

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Issues
  • All Stories
  • About & Contact

More about School of Law

Also See

  • ABA Required Disclosures
  • Licensing Disclosures
  • Statement of Nondiscrimination

Contact Us

  • JD Admissions
  • LLM & Graduate Admissions
  • Offices & Services
  • Faculty & Staff Directory
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
© 2025 Boston University. All rights reserved. www.bu.edu
  • Current Students
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Alumni
  • Employers
  • Journalists
Search
Boston University

Boston University School of Law
765 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02215

  • © Boston University
  • Privacy Statement
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
Boston University Masterplate