Journal RGE

Vital Signs: Law, Ethics, and the Future of Healthcare Justice

March 19, 2026 via Zoom

This event is co-hosted by Touro Law Center's Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity and the Institute for Health Law, Bioethics, and Policy

“Vital Signs: Law, Ethics, and the Future of Healthcare Justice” brings together scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to examine how law shapes access to care, public health governance, and health equity in an era of rapid legal and technological change. The symposium explores the role of federal and state authority in regulating healthcare, the impact of structural inequities on marginalized populations, and the ethical tensions that arise when government power intersects with bodily autonomy and medical decision-making.

This year’s panels address government regulation of healthcare in carceral and public health contexts, systemic disparities affecting aging populations, reproductive rights in the post-Dobbs landscape, and the legal implications of emerging health technologies. Together, these discussions highlight the constitutional, ethical, and policy challenges that define the evolving relationship among law, medicine, and justice.

CLE CREDIT:

4.5 CLE credits available to participating NY attorneys, including 2 Ethics credits, 2.5 Professional Practice credits.

SCHEDULE:

9:00–9:05 am – Welcome Remarks

  • Elena Langan, JD, Dean and Professor of Law, Touro University Jacob D. Fucshberg Law Center

9:05–10:20 am – Government Action and Influence on Health

This panel examines how government action and inaction shape health outcomes for marginalized communities. Panelists explore regulation of healthcare in carceral settings, responses to racism as a public health crisis, and federal–state tensions in vaccine policy, highlighting constitutional, ethical, and equity concerns.

Panelists

  • Christopher Ogolla, MPH, JD, LLM, Associate Professor of Law, Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law 
  • Ana Santos Rutschman, SJD, LLM, Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Health Innovation Lab, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law 
  • Deborah Zalesne, JD, LLM, Professor of Law, City University of New York School of Law 
  • Kwaneta Harris, incarcerated journalist and co-author of Ending Isolation: The Case Against Solitary Confinement

Moderator

  • Rodger Citron, JD, Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship and Professor of Law, Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center

10:20–10:30 am – Break

10:30–11:30 am – Aging, Health Law, and Policy

This panel explores legal and policy frameworks affecting healthcare access, quality, and equity for older adults. Panelists address systemic disparities, the effects of structural inequities on health decline, and challenges involving dementia, autonomy, and decision-making.

Panelists

  • Alice Abrokwa, JD, MPP, Associate Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law 
  • Denise Marzano-Doty, JD '94, Director of the Small Business Legal Assistance Clinic and Assistant Clinical Professor of Law, Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center 
  • Denise Snow, JD, RN, CNM, '05, Adjunct Professor of Law, Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center and Clinical Associate Professor, Touro University School of Nursing

Moderator

  • Joan Foley, JD, Professor of Legal Process, Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center

11:30 AM–12:30 pm – Lunch

12:30–1:30 pm – Reproductive Rights
This panel considers reproductive rights in the post-Dobbs landscape through constitutional, ethical, and public-health perspectives. Discussion focuses on bodily autonomy, abortion access, and racial inequities, emphasizing consequences for patients and providers.

Panelists

  • Laura Hermer, JD, LLM, James E. Kelley Chair in Tort Law and Professor of Law, Mitchell Hamline School of Law 
  • Deborah Machalow, JD, Assistant Professor of Law, The University of Toledo College of Law 
  • Jessica Moeller, JD, Assistant Dean of Experiential Learning and Visiting Professor of Law, Charleston School of Law 

Moderator

  • Rebecca Feinberg, JD, MBE, MS, Distinguished Chair in Health Law, Bioethics and Policy and Associate Professor of Law, Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center

1:30–1:45 pm – Break

1:45–2:45 pm – Health Law and Technology
This panel analyzes emerging health technologies and the legal and ethical questions they present. Panelists evaluate innovation, governance, consent, and gender equity, with attention to the risk of scientific advancement outpacing regulatory safeguards.

Panelists

  • Jennifer Brobst, JD, LLM, Associate Professor of Law, Cecil C. Humphries School of Law, The University of Memphis 
  • Lauren Roth, JD, PhD, Faculty Director of Health Law and Policy Certificate and Associate Professor of Law, Elisabeth Haub School of Law, Pace University
  • Ameet Sarpatwari, PhD, JD, Assistant Professor of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School 

Moderator

  • Danielle Reilly, JD, Associate Professor of Legal Process, Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center

2:45 pm – Closing Remarks

  • Tiffany Graham, JD, Associate Dean for Community Engagement and Associate Professor of Law, Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center

QUESTIONS?

If you have questions, please contact us at tlccle@touro.edu or call 631.761.7006.