Nimra Chowdhry

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Service

Contact Details

Bio
Courses

Nimra Chowdhry (she/her) is a public interest attorney with experience working in federal, state, and local public policy as an advocate for pregnant people, people of color, young people, and immigrants.

In her current role, Nimra serves as a Senior State Legislative Counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, where she focuses on regulations and legislation impacting abortion care across the country.

Nimra began her career as a reproductive rights and justice advocate with the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, where she advanced policies impacting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. While there, Nimra’s work ranged from advocating for local ordinances to supporting congressional efforts.

Immediately prior to joining the Center, Nimra was with Advocates for Youth. There her work focused on the intersection of issues impacting young people, including reproductive rights, HIV policies, LGBTQ health and rights, religious liberties, and presidential nominees.

Courses

Spring 2024

PADM-GP.4452.: US Reproductive Rights Advocacy

This course examines reproductive rights law and policy in the United States and how advocacy can impact it.

Reproductive rights encompass the ability of individuals to make and exercise informed, independent decisions about their own body, sexuality, and reproduction. This includes procreation and family formation, pregnancy care, abortion, birthing and breastfeeding, among others: deeply personal, often, life-changing decisions. Yet contentious legal, policy and public debates at the national and local level controls who can, and cannot, access the health care services and information necessary for people to realize these rights. Historically, and still today, reproductive rights law and policy does not center, or adequately protect, those most impacted.

In this course, students will gain a grounding in the relevant constitutional doctrines and federal and state laws that have defined and constrained reproductive rights in recent decades. We will also discuss intersections with human rights, racial, economic, and gender equality, among other inseparable rights. Learning from real-world advocacy campaigns, including guest speakers, we will investigate the challenges and value-add of different strategies--from litigation to legislation to public communications--for creating enabling legal and policy environments in which people have the resources they need to freely exercise their reproductive rights.

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