Parenting and procreation have long been contested legal terrain in the United States as exemplified by a history of abuses against marginalized populations including people with disabilities. While some of the most egregious abuses, such as state sponsored sterilization programs, are relics of the past, it remains true that people with disabilities face distinct and at times insurmountable roadblocks to procreation and parenting. This article details ongoing forms of procreative discrimination against people with disabilities, rejects common justifications for that discrimination, and offers proposals for better protecting the rights to procreate and parent for disabled people.

harvard law review

Kimberly Mutcherson is a distinguished legal scholar and educator specializing in reproductive justice, bioethics, and family and health law. She serves as a Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School in Camden, New Jersey, where she previously made history as the institution's first woman, first Black person, and first openly LGBTQ+ individual to hold the position of Co-Dean .(Rutgers University-Camden, law.rutgers.edu)

Professor Mutcherson's scholarship delves into critical issues such as assisted reproduction, abortion, and maternal-fetal decision-making. In 2020, she edited and contributed to the volume Feminist Judgments: Reproductive Justice Rewritten, published by Cambridge University Press .(Federalist Society, Legal Talk Network)

Her academic journey includes a B.A. in history from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was recognized as a Stone Scholar and received the Samuel I. Rosenman Prize for excellence in public law courses and outstanding qualities of citizenship and leadership . Upon graduation, she was awarded the Kirkland & Ellis Fellowship for post-graduate public interest work.(The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association, law.rutgers.edu)

Before joining Rutgers in 2002, Professor Mutcherson gained experience as an Acting Assistant Professor of Lawyering at New York University School of Law, a consulting attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, and a Staff Attorney at the HIV Law Project .(The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association)

Her contributions to legal education and advocacy have been recognized with numerous accolades, including the 2023 Trailblazer Award from the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association and the 2021 M. Shanara Gilbert Human Rights Award from the Society of American Law Teachers . She also co-founded the Law Deans Antiracist Clearinghouse Project, earning the inaugural Impact Award from the Association of American Law Schools in 2020 .(Temple University Beasley School of Law)

In the 2024–2025 academic year, Professor Mutcherson is serving as the Phyllis W. Beck Chair in Law at Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she is teaching courses on bioethics and reproductive law .(Legal Talk Network)