Feminists For Choice

I know there are plenty of feminists out there that are not only passionate about reproductive justice, but the law as well. If that happens to be you, consider this new fellowship offered by Columbia Law School and The Center for Reproductive Rights. It is a two year, post-graduate fellowship that will begin in July of 2010.

This sounds like an amazing opportunity to do great work for reproductive rights. Here is a description of the program

The CRR-CLS Fellowship is a full-time, residential fellowship for up to two full years starting in July 2010. The Fellow will be a member of the community of graduate fellows at the Law School and will be integrated into the legal and policy work of the Center and will have work space at both locations. The Fellow will also have access to law school facilities, including the library and on-line research resources, and faculty events. It is expected that the Fellow will work closely with an assigned Law School faculty mentor. Fellows will pursue independent research and scholarship in preparation for entering the legal academic job market at the conclusion of their first Fellowship year. Fellows are expected to produce a work of serious scholarship during their Fellowship tenure. Fellows will also have responsibility for the planning and hosting of academic conferences and/or roundtable discussions and creation of curricular materials as part of their work at CRR. The scope and detail of the Fellows’ work will be agreed upon in consultation with their faculty mentor and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

The fellow will also receive a stipend of $55,000 per year for each full year in residence. How awesome is that?

Here are the eligibility requirements:

Applicants must show a strong interest in developing a research agenda related to reproductive health and human rights and show exceptional promise as a legal scholar. Applicants will be evaluated by the quality of their application materials, and by their record of academic and professional achievement. A J.D. from an accredited law school in the United States is required. Fellows are not required to be graduates of Columbia Law School.

This program sounds super legit. I couldn’t think of a better way for a passionately pro-choice feminist to get involved in reproductive rights via the legal system.

Although i’m not really the lawyer type, I know how important it is that we have legal advocates for reproductive justice. We are at a crucial time in the fight for choice and this opportunity just goes to show the myriad of different opportunities out there for women’s rights advocates to get involved in an incredibly meaningful way.