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Thrower Symposium

Thrower Symposium

Register for the 2026 Thrower Symposium

The Boundaries of Bodily Autonomy: Power, Ethics, and Law

The Emory Law Journal (ELJ) invites you to register for the 2026 Randolph W. Thrower Symposium, taking place on Thursday, February 5, 2026, at Emory University School of Law. Hosted annually by ELJ since 1995, the Thrower Symposium honors the life and legacy of Randolph W. Thrower (1913–2014), a beloved attorney and veteran who left a lasting impact on Atlanta and beyond. The event is open to the public, and attorneys attending all three panels and the keynote may receive 5.5 CLE credits.

The 2026 Thrower Symposium will explore "The Boundaries of Bodily Autonomy: Power, Ethics, and Law". In a post-Dobbs landscape, debates over reproductive rights, public health mandates, and end-of-life decision-making reveal growing tensions between individual freedom and government authority. Through a series of panels and a keynote address, the Symposium will explore how law defines, protects, and sometimes constrains personal autonomy. Registration is now open.

Register here: https://bit.ly/2026Thrower

Symposium Overview

Check-In and Breakfast: 8:00 – 8:50 a.m.

Opening Remarks: 9:00 – 9:15 a.m.

Panel I. Public Health, Private Choice, 9:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

  • Professor Nicole Huberfeld, Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law
  • Professor Wendy Parmet, Professor of Law, Northeastern University School of Law
  • Professor Ani Satz, Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law
  • Professor Lindsay Wiley, Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law
  • Moderator: Professor Matthew Lawrence, Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law

This panel will examine the tension between individual bodily autonomy and collective health, focusing on public health mandates, emergency powers, and the limits of existing regulatory frameworks.

Break: 10:45 – 11:00 a.m.

Panel II. Dignity in End-of-Life Decision Making, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

  • Professor Leslie Francis, Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah
  • Professor Thaddeus M. Pope, Professor of Law, Mitchell Hamline School of Law
  • Dr. Tammie Quest, Montgomery Chair in Palliative Medicine and Professor at Emory University School of Medicine
  • Moderator: Professor Alexander "Sasha" Volokh, Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law

This panel will address the legal and ethical challenges of end-of-life care, including assisted dying, DNR orders, and how the law navigates dignity, autonomy, and state authority.

Lunch: 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Panel III. Reimagining Reproductive Rights, 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

  • Professor Greer Donley, Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh School of Law
  • Professor Caitlin Myers, Professor of Economics, Middlebury College
  • Professor Whitney Rice, Assistant Professor, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health
  • Moderator: Professor Kay L. Levine, Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law

This panel will explore evolving issues in reproductive autonomy, including abortion, IVF, fetal personhood, and the role of race, poverty, and economic justice in shaping reproductive rights.

Break: 3:00 – 3:15 p.m.

Keynote Address: 3:15 – 4:15 p.m.

  • Professor Dorothy Roberts, George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology and the Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights, University of Pennsylvania

Concluding Remarks: 4:15 – 4:30 p.m.

  • Professor Mark Nevitt, Associate Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law

Reception: 4:30 – 6:00 p.m.

For information on the 2025 Symposium and other symposia, please see the Past Symposia section below. 

Randolph Thrower

Since 1995, Emory University School of Law and the Emory Law Journal have hosted the Randolph W. Thrower Symposium, part of an endowed lecture series sponsored by Thrower's family. Randolph Thrower 34C 36L graduated from Emory College and Emory University School of Law and achieved wide acclaim through his active practice of law and devotion to public service. Mr. Thrower passed away in 2014.

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Past Symposia