Michele Bratcher Goodwin

Michele Bratcher Goodwin is the Linda D. & Timothy J. O’Neill Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy at Georgetown University Law Center. She co-directs the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and holds a Senior Lecturer role at Harvard Medical School. Her expertise spans constitutional law, global health policy, bioethics, and gender/sexuality law. She earned degrees from University of Wisconsin (B.A., LL.M., S.J.D.) and Boston College Law School (J.D.).

Research focuses on intersecting legal frameworks governing health, reproductive rights, and systemic inequities. Notable works include Policing The Womb, which critiques criminalization of marginalized mothers. Her scholarship appears in top law reviews and influences national media, policy debates, and legislative testimony. Awards include the 2023 California Women’s Law Center Award and 2022 Margaret Brent Award.

Leadership experience includes directing UC Irvine’s Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy, guiding desegregation efforts in a major school district, and advising U.S. National Academy committees on equality, organ donation, and reproductive health. She chairs the Hastings Center Fellows Council and serves on the American Constitution Society’s Executive Committee.