Bridgette Dunlap

Bridgette Dunlap is a lawyer and a scholar whose work centers on public understanding of and access to legal systems. She has been a legal analyst for Rewire, a staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, and a fellow and adjunct professor at the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice
at Fordham Law School. She is the author of the articles

Anyone Can ‘Think Like a Lawyer’: How the Lawyers’ Monopoly on Legal Understanding Undermines Democracy and the Rule of Law in the United States

(Fordham Law Review),

Protecting the Space to Be Unveiled: Why France’s Full Veil Ban Does not Violate the European Convention on Human Rights

(Fordham International Law Journal), and

The Rule of Law Without Lawyers: American Legal Reformers and the Cambodian Lawyer Shortage

(working paper).

A Question for Anti-Choicers: How, Exactly, Would Your Rape Exception Work?

Bridgette Dunlap

No politician or pundit should get away with claiming he supports any “exception” without facing the obvious follow-up question: “How, exactly, would it work?”

UPDATE: A Closer Look at the Contraceptive Coverage Lawsuits: The Radical Agenda Behind the Fight Over Religious Exemptions

Bridgette Dunlap

Thirty lawsuits have been filed by corporations challenging the HHS regulation requiring that most health plans cover contraceptives. A survey of these cases yields some useful information as to what the “religious freedom” debate is all about.

USCCB Makes False Statement about Contraception Mandate Ruling

Bridgette Dunlap

On Friday, the USCCB tweeted this demonstrably false statement: "Federal judge finds HHS mandate violates conscience rights of private employer." That did not happen.

Why the USCCB’s “Religious Freedom” Argument Is a Lie

Bridgette Dunlap

The recent Huffington Post article by Sister Mary Ann Walsh of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops tells us quite a bit about the veracity of the USCCB’s claims that religious freedom is under attack in the United States.

Despite State Birth Control Mandate, Fordham Law Students Lack Access to Affordable Contraception Even for Medical Reasons

Bridgette Dunlap

Under New York State's law mandating insurance coverage for contraception, Fordham was able to accept that religiously-affiliated entities that want to sell products in the marketplace like insurance and federally-subsidized education must meet the same quality standards as non-religious organizations. Unfortunately, despite state law, Fordham still fails to guarantee access to affordable contraception.

Fordham Law Students’ Health Clinic a Success, But University Still Refuses to Divulge Health Care Policies

Bridgette Dunlap

Last week, the Fordham Law School chapter of Law Students for Reproductive Justice held an off-campus clinic to provide access to birth control prescriptions and condoms to students of our Catholic University. It was a greater success than we had hoped for, but the University still refuses to clarify its policies, much less prescribe contraception.

Law Students Fight Fordham University’s Bait and Switch on Coverage of Birth Control

Bridgette Dunlap

Fordham University prohibits the prescription of contraception at its health centers and the distribution of condoms on campus though many students aren't aware of that until they've paid for the school's insurance or visited the health center. Many are denied birth control even when facing health risks. This week, law students at the Catholic school are taking matters into their own hands by organizing a clinic just off-campus.