Risk and Resistance: Feminist Interventions in Health Law, Science, and Policy

The American University Washington College of Law Health Law and Policy Program and Program on Gender, Theory, Law & Practice along with the American University Center on Health, Risk, and Society are pleased to host Risk and Resistance: Feminist Interventions in Health Law, Science, and Policy on Friday, October 3, from 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET (in person and virtually) with the support of AUWCL's Program on Law & Government, Boston University School of Law, Boston University School of Law Program on Reproductive Justice and Boston University School of Law Health Law Program. 

The program celebrated and discussed the themes raised in Aziza Ahmed’s new book, Risk and Resistance: How Feminists Transformed the Law and Science of AIDS (Cambridge University Press, 2025).

The symposium convened a diverse group of experts across law, public health, feminist legal theory, and reproductive justice to reflect on the history of AIDS and its ongoing impact on public health and policy.

Professor Ahmed delivered the keynote address, with Professor Michele Goodwin serving as the keynote commentator, followed by two panels exploring the book’s central themes. Discussion topics included:

• The role of expertise in addressing public health crises from AIDS to COVID and beyond
• Histories of reproductive justice rooted in activism around disability and welfare rights
• Feminist activism’s impact on public health interventions in science and medicine
• Contested areas of feminist engagement in public health law
• The role of social movements in shaping gender and health policy

Thank you to those who joined us as leading experts explored the role of expertise in addressing public health crises from AIDS to COVID, the history of AIDS activism, and the enduring role of social movements in shaping gender and health policy.