Document Type
Article
Abstract
This Essay presents a reflective case study on divergent leadership models in the fight for abortion access. Just as scholars study what is happening regarding abortion access, it is equally important to study how people advocate for supportive laws and policies, where they advocate, and who they center in the advocacy, so that tactics remain effective in a rapidly evolving legal, political, and social landscape. This Essay analyzes the “I Stand with Planned Parenthood” advocacy campaign of the 2000s as an example of a centralized and individual leadership model, and it identifies strategic strengths and weaknesses of that approach. This campaign was emblematic of abortion access leadership models before Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, models which dominantly centered prominent national legal organizations, such as Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). This Essay juxtaposes the “I Stand with Planned Parenthood” advocacy campaign with the state ballot initiative advocacy efforts of the post-Dobbs era. The expansive successes of these ballot initiatives caught national attention because of what they accomplished for abortion access. This Essay examines how leaders achieved these successes and who led these efforts through the contrasting lens of a collective leadership model.
Recommended Citation
Jamie R. Abrams, A Reflective Case Study of Leadership Models in the Fight for Abortion Access, 16 ConLawNOW 241 (2025)