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

The Touro Law Center Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity and the Institute for Health Law, Bioethics, and Policy are pleased to host a joint 2026 symposium, Vital Signs: Law, Ethics, and the Future of Healthcare 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

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

This panel analyzes the role of government action and inaction in shaping health outcomes for marginalized populations. Presentations address state and federal regulation of healthcare in carceral settings, legislative and executive responses to racism as a public health crisis, and the evolving balance of power between federal and state governments in vaccine policy. The discussion highlights legal, ethical, and constitutional tensions that arise when government authority directly affects access to care, bodily autonomy, and public health equity.

Panelists

  • Deborah Zalesne, Professor of Law, CUNY School of Law – “Punishment Over Care: Legal and Ethical Failures in Healthcare for Incarcerated Women”
  • Christopher Ogolla, Associate Professor, Barry University School of Law – “Racism as a Public Health Crisis: State Legislative Actions and the New Federal Executive Orders on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”
  • Ana Santos Rutschman, Professor of Law, Villanova University School of Law – Vaccine Federalism

Moderator

  • Rodger Citron, 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 examines legal and policy frameworks governing healthcare access, quality, and equity for older adults, with particular attention to systemic disparities affecting senior citizens. Topics include healthcare justice for aging populations, structural inequities that accelerate health decline (“weathering”), and legal challenges surrounding dementia care, autonomy, and decision-making capacity. Panelists explore how law, policy, and social determinants intersect to shape outcomes for aging individuals across racial, gender, and socioeconomic lines.

Panelists

  • Denise Marzano-Doty, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law, Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center - “Senior Citizens: Leveling the Playing Field in Healthcare Justice”
  • Alice Abrokwa, Associate Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law – “Stolen Futures and an Afrofuturist Response to Weathering”
  • Denise Snow, Adjunct Professor, Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center - Dementia

Moderator

  • Joan Foley, 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 examines reproductive rights through doctrinal, ethical, and public-health lenses in the post-Dobbs legal landscape. Topics include bodily autonomy and embodiment, the impact of restrictive abortion laws on patient safety and access to care, and racial inequities in reproductive health outcomes. Panelists analyze how abortion regulation intersects with constitutional law, healthcare delivery, and systemic inequality, emphasizing the real-world consequences for pregnant individuals and healthcare providers.

Panelists

  • Laura Hermer, James E. Kelley Professor of Law, Mitchell Hamline School of Law – “Abortion and Embodiment”
  • Deborah Machalow, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law – “Actively Doing Harm: Restrictive Abortion Laws Make Pregnancy More Dangerous and Increase Obstacles to Reproductive Care”
  • Jessica Moeller, Assistant Dean of Experiential Learning and Visiting Professor of Law, Charleston School of Law – “The Mortal Cost of Racial Inequity in Reproductive Healthcare Post-Dobbs”

Moderator

  • Rebecca Feinberg, 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 explores emerging health technologies and their legal, ethical, and gender-equity implications. Topics include reproductive and biomedical innovation, such as whole human cloning, and broader regulatory challenges posed by rapidly advancing medical technologies. Panelists assess how existing legal frameworks respond to scientific developments, with a focus on women’s rights, consent, governance, and the risks of technological advancement outpacing ethical and legal safeguards.

Panelists

  • Jennifer Brobst, Associate Professor, Cecil C. Humphries School of Law, The University of Memphis) – “The Impact of Whole Human Cloning on Women's Rights”
  • Ameet Sarpatwari, Assistant Professor of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School 

Moderator

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

2:45 pm – Closing Remarks

QUESTIONS?

If you have questions, please contact us at cle@tourolaw.edu or call 631.761.7006.