Release date: April 24, 2003
Contact: Elaine Justice, Associate Director, University Media Relations,
at 404-727-0643 or ejustic@emory.edu

Emory Law Student Wins National Fellowship

Stacey Young of Williamsville, NY, a third-year student at Emory University School of Law, has won a two-year Equal Justice Works postgraduate public interest fellowship to begin September 2003.

Young, 26, will work for two years in Pittsburgh at the satellite office of the Women's Law Project, a legal organization headquartered in Philadelphia. The proposal that won Young the fellowship addresses three distinct goals for women's reproductive rights in Western Pennsylvania. First, Young will address the problems facing minors in Pennsylvania who are required by state law to obtain parental consent before receiving an abortion unless they receive a judicial bypass from a court. Young will work with court systems in Western Pennsylvania to streamline their bypass procedures to facilitate the process for minors.

Second, Young will work with public schools in Western Pennsylvania to encourage implementation of comprehensive sexuality education curricula. Currently, most school systems in that region teach abstinence-only programs.

Third, through lobbying and litigation efforts, Young will address the constitutional and other problems surrounding "crisis pregnancy centers." These clinics have been accused of using false advertising to gain clients, then using medically inaccurate information to convince women not to have abortions. The centers' receipt of state funding also presents questions regarding state-sponsored viewpoint discrimination and unconstitutional religious entanglement, says Young.

Young vows to use her legal training to help women protect their rights. "I feel so fortunate for the opportunity to pursue reproductive rights law," she says. "This fellowship will enable me to advocate for women in Western Pennsylvania whose reproductive rights have long been threatened by onerous legislation, a dearth of desperately needed reproductive health care services, and a lack of comprehensive sexuality education."

Equal Justice Works (formerly The National Association for Public Interest Law) was founded in 1986 by law students dedicated to overcoming barriers to equal justice. The organization helps train and support public service-minded law students, and creates summer and postgraduate public interest jobs. Through more than eight million dollars in annual donations from law firms, corporations and foundations, Equal Justice Works funds law students and lawyers in programs that bring justice to millions of low-income people and families.

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