Primary Job Title President and CEO Primary Organization 
Center for Reproductive Rights
Location New York, New York, United States Regions Greater New York Area, East Coast, Northeastern US Gender Female
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Ms. Northup joined the Center in 2003 with a rich mix of experience as a constitutional litigator, federal prosecutor, and women’s rights advocate, and a reputation for intelligence, passion, and creativity. "I look forward to a time when a woman's right to control her reproductive life is secured as a fundamental human right, which
cannot be denied in the name of religion, culture, or politics," Ms. Northup declared at the time.
Since then, Ms. Northup has pursued that vision at the Center with bold, new strategies. Under her leadership, the Center has aggressively expanded its international program, including the launch of an international litigation campaign that has included the first abortion case decided by the U.N. Human Rights Committee and the first case to frame preventable maternal deaths as a human rights violation. Building on its established reputation as first-rate litigators, the Center has also taken the human rights framework into its work in the U.S. It is now documenting U.S. rights violations through fact-finding reports and holding the U.S. accountable before U.N. bodies that monitor compliance with international treaty obligations. In 2008, Ms. Northup led the Center to establish the Law School Initiative to promote legal scholarship and teaching on reproductive health and human rights, an emerging body of transnational law not yet widely taught in U.S. law schools. This ground-breaking effort will shape the thinking of the next generation of lawyers, judges, and policymakers through fellowships for recent law school graduates, a visiting scholars' program, curriculum development, conferences, and publications.
