Historian, Law Professor, Guggenheim Fellow, 7 books, including Personhood and Roe: The History of a National Obsession. Bylines in the NYT, Atlantic, CNN, MSNBC, and Slate.https://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3muhppmsa5s2vImportant reporting from @jodikantor.bsky.social on when--if at all--we'll have access to full records of what really happened in the Roberts Court: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/us/politics/supreme-court-internal-records-sealed.html01 Sep 2026 15:17 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3muhppmsa5s2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3mtbw2wsods24The most recent episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver featured a discussion of fetal personhood--and a cameo from my book! It's an important issue, and so I hope you get a chance to watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCSt45rev7w17 Aug 2026 14:30 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtbw2wsods24https://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3mrpyt7nlhc2oWithin weeks of SCOTUS's B.P.J. decision, Heritage called Title IX "feminist social engineering" and called for its overhaul. Reva Siegel and I revised our forthcoming piece in the Tx. L. Rev. to make sense of B.P.J. and what's going on: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6654318 balkin.blogspot.com28 Jul 2026 18:06 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrpyt7nlhc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3mmbxybpglc2tWhat we can learn about the mifepristone struggle from what has happened so far? Reva Siegel and I shared our thoughts in Slate: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/05/supreme-court-abortion-pill-ruling-kavanaugh-fail.html20 May 2026 13:08 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmbxybpglc2thttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3mkidnqlh7c2rReva Siegel and I have posted our latest on SSRN, which is forthcoming in the Texas Law Review. Comments welcome as we revise! https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=665431827 Apr 2026 15:02 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkidnqlh7c2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3mieuqyl6jk2wSo honored to be 1 of 2 recipients of the 2d annual Organization of American Historians Prize for Contributions to Public Policy, which recognizes scholars who have made "a significant contribution to U.S. public policy through historical research." Learn more here: https://www.oah.org/2026/03/26/oah-celebrates-2026-award-winners/.31 Mar 2026 19:07 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3mieuqyl6jk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3mh46x3ryss2sThis book is a must-read, with deep insight into some of the most important--and often unknown--players in the story of the fall of Roe. Congrats to @amylittlefield.bsky.social on an important book! [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Mar 2026 14:50 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3mh46x3ryss2shttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3mge7hvugv223Happy to share my latest with @naomicahn.bsky.social and @maxineeichner.bsky.social on Mahmoud, forthcoming in the Duke Law Journal and now on SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=634321806 Mar 2026 01:56 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3mge7hvugv223https://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3mge4h57cg22bAnd when you are done, read this important piece by @greerdonley.bsky.social and Chip Carter on originalism and personhood: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6343018 [contains quote post or other embedded content]06 Mar 2026 01:02 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3mge4h57cg22bhttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3mge4ebogrs2bOn X, Josh Craddock is posting his critique of Reva Siegel's article on the weaknesses of arguments about fetal personhood: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6342759 Read both papers and decide for yourself. :)06 Mar 2026 01:00 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3mge4ebogrs2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3md4dmb7r422pCurious what's to come for state ballot initiative battles in 2026? Check out my latest for the Brennan Institute: https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/2026-abortion-related-ballot-measures23 Jan 2026 18:33 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3md4dmb7r422phttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3m4yhcvss4k2hWriting a piece on the history and current use of the idea of "biological sex" with Reva Siegel now--check out what it's doing below. The idea is playing a major role in these cases--and in the Court's potential rethinking of sex discrimination writ large. Stay tuned for more on that! [contains quote post or other embedded content]06 Nov 2025 20:57 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4yhcvss4k2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3m254ucq7ss2xThis will also delay resolution of the issue, which may suit the Trump Administration, while leaving open the possibility that the judge to whom the case is transferred will buy the arguments about the Comstock Act and FDA authority. [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Oct 2025 13:18 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3m254ucq7ss2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3lundrwp7ek2bTwo more important things: 1) this suit is meant to get a federal court to finally interpret the Comstock Act as a ban/ force a response from SCOTUS and Trump; 2) it reinforces arguments for fetal personhood (note that is a class action on behalf of all "fathers of unborn children") [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Jul 2025 15:33 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3lundrwp7ek2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3lunc25r7y22sWe were long promised that cross-border wars over abortion would center on wrongful death suits brought by men. This may be the start, in a suit filed by Jonathan Mitchell. Why is this a big deal? It may feel like it's not because the TX state suit and Louisiana prosecution didn't go anywhere. /1 [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Jul 2025 15:02 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3lunc25r7y22shttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3lsjes3lpes26 Medina on its own will likely harder for plaintiffs to enforce other civil rights in federal court. And as far as reproductive health is concerned, this case could be part of a one-two punch if Trump's Big Beautiful Bill passes. [contains quote post or other embedded content]26 Jun 2025 14:50 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsjes3lpes26https://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3lrvats24u22qSkrmetti caps off decades of movement work to rethink sex discrimination jurisprudence across the board. The goal was to ensure law could regulate based on biological difference, broadly defined --as one ADF attorney explained, to show that “one cannot deny the reality of biological sex.” [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Jun 2025 14:46 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrvats24u22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3lrv7yad7vk26Look at how much work the Court's abortion cases do here. The majority cites Dobbs to say that regulating a medical condition/procedure isn't sex discrimination, and another abortion case, Gonzales v. Carhart, to suggest that legislatures deserve discretion when there is scientific uncertainty. [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Jun 2025 14:31 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrv7yad7vk26https://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3lr73nilstk2eStriking story: a man accused of putting abortion pills into his girlfriend's drink without her consent is being charged not with criminal abortion or reproductive coercion but with capital murder in Texas. A test for personhood politics in the state. https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article308230115.html09 Jun 2025 19:15 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3lr73nilstk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3lqrwjfnwl22pThe strategy in this case, involving what movement members call a guardian for the unborn, has been a defining strategy for fetal personhood since the 1960s. There are more federal personhood cases in the pipeline like this one in MN: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/11/25/lawsuit-challenges-minnesota-abortion-access-in-federal-court [contains quote post or other embedded content]04 Jun 2025 13:39 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqrwjfnwl22phttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3lqpwjinhwk2kToday, the Trump Admin issued this on EMTALA. What does it mean? https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-statement-emergency-medical-treatment-and-labor-act-emtala#:~:text=The%20Department%20of%20Health%20and,21%2D22%2DHospitals)%20and03 Jun 2025 18:33 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqpwjinhwk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3lqaycwl4l22zThe study designed to give Trump a chance to revisit the rules governing mifepristone wasn't isolated. Here's the sequel; we'll see if it prompts HHS to end telehealth access. https://lozierinstitute.org/the-origins-and-proliferation-of-unfounded-comparisons-regarding-the-safety-of-mifepristone/28 May 2025 19:55 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqaycwl4l22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3lqaeu7r3wk2cAnyone have a copy of the MO Supreme Court order from yesterday, and Judge Zhang's February ruling? The MO courts page seems to be down?28 May 2025 14:07 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqaeu7r3wk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3lq6kpokjcc2p Huge news. This bill was heralded as a model for other states. My guess is that it was taken down by its language blocking state courts from ruling on its constitutionality. Don't be surprised if many of these proposals are back, in TX and elsewhere, minus that idea. [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 May 2025 20:47 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3lq6kpokjcc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3lpkg533j722jThe GA AG claims that Adriana Smith doesn't have to be kept on life support because taking her off wouldn't qualify as a "direct abortion" and violate the state's ban. But that's wrong because GA's law is a *fetal personhood* law. Want to learn more? I have a book! https://www.amazon.com/Personhood-New-Civil-over-Reproduction/dp/0300273045 [contains quote post or other embedded content]19 May 2025 20:31 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpkg533j722jhttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3lpjqqmkqms2iAP's reporting on GA may confuse readers. It says pro-lifers are divided on personhood bills. That's true of bills authorizing punishment of women but NOT of the idea of personhood, which is what is driving events in Georgia. This isn't an outlier. https://apnews.com/article/pregnant-woman-brain-dead-abortion-ban-georgia-80b463f0f398d5a9c62f8888739025cb19 May 2025 14:09 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpjqqmkqms2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3lp7vmzfgj22k "Investigation" into mifepristone has been a defining policy. At first, this was a way to buy time, given that the abortion issue hurts Republicans. Now it looks like political cover. Trump's past talk of state's rights will be portrayed as sincere; he will say that new data have changed his mind. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 May 2025 16:10 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3lp7vmzfgj22khttps://bsky.app/profile/maryrziegler.bsky.social/post/3looncpgudk2cWow--honored that @npr picked Personhood as the book of the day. https://www.npr.org/2025/05/08/1249919764/nprs-book-of-the-day-mary-ziegler-personhood You can pick up a copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Personhood-New-Civil-over-Reproduction/dp/030027304508 May 2025 19:25 +0000at://did:plc:mc4gqxxfwsfphn7fltppcrba/app.bsky.feed.post/3looncpgudk2c