Filling a Federal Void: Promises and Perils of State Law in Addressing Women's Health Disparities

Valarie K Blake¹, Michelle L McGowan¹

• ¹Valarie K. Blake, J.D., M.A., is an Associate Professor at the West Virginia University College of Law. Professor Blake has a B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh, a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and an MA from Case Western Reserve University. Professor Blake's scholarly research is at the intersections of disability law, health law, medical ethics, stigma, civil rights, and insurance law. Michelle L. McGowan, Ph.D., is a Research Associate Professor in the Ethics Center and Division of General and Community Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center within the Departments of Pediatrics and Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies at University of Cincinnati. She completed her Ph.D. in Women Studies at University of Washington and postdoctoral training in Bioethics at Case Western Reserve University. Her research focuses on the ethical and social implications of reproductive health policies on healthcare providers' and patients, with a particular emphasis on gendered health care disparities.