awards

cari sietstra award for excellence in organizing

Named in honor of LSRJ's visionary founder, former Executive Director, and organizer extraordinaire, this prize is awarded annually to a current LSRJ member or chapter that has demonstrated excellence in campus organizing in the previous three semesters. The Award Review Committee consists of LSRJ staff and student members. Criteria considered include applicants' efforts to advocate for RJ on their campuses and in their communities, successes in overcoming adversity, and participation in the LSRJ network on the regional or national levels. The winning chapter or individual receives a trophy and prize money – to put toward their organizing efforts, of course!

Past recipients of the Cari Sietstra Award include:

2011 – Laura Buchs (University of Wisconsin School of Law, class of 2011), Lillian Hewko (University of Washington School of Law, class of 2011), and Thomas Jefferson School of Law LSRJ Chapter.

2010 – Joe Austen (University of Iowa School of Law, class of 2010)

2009 – Madison Burnett (Georgia State University College of Law, class of 2009)

2008 – Joy Levin Welan (Georgetown University Law Center, Class of 2008)

sarah weddington writing prize for student scholarship in reproductive rights law

Law students tend to write their papers, comments, and notes on current legal topics pertaining to their course materials. Without there being more course coverage of reproductive rights and justice, students need an outside incentive to dedicate their time and attention to research and writing in this field of study. To incentivize and inspire student scholarship, LSRJ annually awards two student authors the Sarah Weddington Writing Prize for New Student Scholarship in Reproductive Rights Law.

NEW: 2012 Call for Submissions

The 2012 Writing Prize theme is: "Legislating Stereotypes: Reproductive Rights Rollback in the States." For information about the application and selection process, please download the 2012 Call for Submissions (PDF). The deadline for submission is Monday, March 5, 2012.

2011 Winners of the Sarah Weddington Writing Prize:

Law Students for Reproductive Justice (LSRJ), in collaboration with the Center for Reproductive Rights, is pleased to announce the winners of the sixth annual Sarah Weddington Writing Prize for New Student Scholarship in Reproductive Rights. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the following prize recipients:

1st Place: Allison Hartry, J.D. candidate (UC Berkeley School of Law, 2012) for “Birthright Justice: Birthright Citizenship and Reproductive Justice in Immigration Detention Centers”

2nd Place: Elizabeth J. Chen, J.D. candidate (Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, 2012) for "Equal Protection: Why the HPV Vaccine Should be Mandated for Both Boys and Girls”

3rd Place: Sarah Coburn, J.D. candidate (Temple University Beasley School of Law, 2011) for “Obstructed Birth: Racism in Midwifery Regulation, the Emergence of the Certified Professional Midwife and the Need for Movement Building”

Authors of the first, second, and third place submissions received prizes of $750, $500, and $250, respectively. In addition, the first place submission will be published in an upcoming volume of the New York University Review of Law and Social Change. The full text of the winning submissions will be made available on soon. For more information, please download the press release.

The 2011 theme was “Beyond the Books: Realizing Reproductive Rights in Real Lives."

Past recipients of the prize include:

2009/2010

First Place: Hilary P. Hammell, J.D. Candidate (University of Washington School of Law, Class of 2012) for ”Is the Right to Health a Necessary Precondition for Gender Equality?” (PDF)
Second Place: Sara Wilkinson, J.D. Candidate (University of Minnesota Law School, Class of 2010) for ”Redefining ‘Life’ in the Mexican Abortion Debate” (PDF)
Third Place: Heidi Bramson, J.D. and MPH Candidate (Rutgers School of Law, Class of 2011) “Gender-Rating in the United States Health Insurance Industry: A Human Rights Violation “ (PDF)

2008/2009

First Place: Joanna Nairn, J.D. (Harvard Law School, Class of 2009) for "Is There a Right to Have Children? Substantive Due Process and Probation Conditions that Restrict Reproductive Rights" (PDF)
Second Place: Kelsey Collier-Wise, J.D. candidate (University of South Dakota School of Law, class of 2010) for "Bearing Witness: Looking for Remedies for Forced Sterilization of Indigenous Women " (PDF)

2007/2008

First Place: Danielle Franco Mallone, J.D. (University of Washington School of Law, Class of 2008) for "Forging Family Ties through Full Surrogacy: An Argument In Favor of Recognizing Non-Traditional Parents in Japan" (PDF)
Second Place: Jocelyn Getgen, J.D. (Cornell, Class of 2007) for "Untold Truths: The Exclusion of Enforced Sterilizations from the Peruvian Truth Commission's Final Report" (PDF)

2006/2007

First Place: Ashley Wenger, J.D. (University of Minnesota, Class of 2007) for "Fetal Pain Legislation: Subordinating Sound Medical Findings to Moral and Political Agendas" (PDF)
Second Place: Katherine Atkinson, J.D. (Washington College of Law at American University, Class of 2006) for "The Constitutionality of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003" (PDF)

2005/2006

First Place: Elizabeth Pike, J.D. (Georgetown University Law Center, Class of 2007) for "Contraceptive Conflicts at the Counter: Exploring the Legal Ramifications of a Pharmacists' Conscientious Objection to Filling Prescriptions for Emergency Contraception" (PDF)
Second Place: Hannah Stein, J.D. (University of Minnesota, Class of 2005) for "En masse subpoenaing of abortion and pregnancy records: a disturbing attack on medical records privacy" (PDF)