Feminist Revolt and the Constitution: Abortion Activism on the Island of Ireland with Dr Jane Rooney
Event Description
Dr Rooney’s current project uses narrative interviews on peoples’ experiences in reform of the law on abortion in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to critically evaluate the circumstances in which constitutions do and can accommodate feminist demands. The data is analysed through the lens of concepts used in constitutional literature to identify ‘the people’ who are the ultimate source of legitimacy for the constitution. This paper argues that acts of ‘revolt’ are a means of identifying ‘the people’ for constitutional change. The data reveals actions of feminist revolt, whose demands call into question the legitimacy of the current constitutional framework. Feminist Revolt includes (i) Breaking the Law and Performing the Law (ii) Diffusing, Ignoring, and Laughing at aggression (iii) Changing Subjectivities.
About Dr Rooney
Dr Jane Rooney is an Assistant Professor in International Law at Durham Law School. Jane researches in the areas of human rights law, constitutional law and public international law. Jane was involved with reform of abortion law in Northern Ireland, particularly regarding the questions of competence within the devolution settlement in the UK. She has published work on abortion in Northern Ireland in the Modern Law Review, the Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, and the Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law. Her new book, Feminist Revolt and the Constitution: Abortion Reform on the Island of Ireland, Jane uses narrative interviews on peoples’ experiences in reform of abortion law in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to critically evaluate whether constitutions and constitutionalism can accommodate feminist demands. This seminar is based on work that is part of the British Academy Funded project on which she is primary investigator: Bridging the Local and Global: Women’s Collectives and the Spaces of Action/Reflection. Her other funded projects are International Human Rights Law and Devolution in the UK and the Extractive Industry and Foreign Security Network. Jane was Hauser Global Research Fellow at the Centre for Human Rights and Global Justice, New York University, 2020, and is an Associate of the Oxford Human Rights Hub.
This event is sponsored by the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School and the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics, with support from the Oswald DeN. Cammann Fund at Harvard University.