Jill Wieber Lens, who serves as Dorothy M. Willie Professor in Excellence, joined the faculty in 2024. 

Lens is a leading legal expert in reproductive justice and rights, with a particular focus on the legal treatment of stillbirth and pregnancy more generally. Her research is inspired by her son Caleb’s stillbirth in 2017 when she was 37 weeks pregnant. 

Her recent work has appeared in the Michigan Law Review, Georgetown Law Journal, Vanderbilt Law Review, and U.C. Davis Law Review. Her popular press writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, and Time. UC Press is publishing her book, Stillbirth & the Law, in spring 2025. The book explores the ways in which federal and state laws contribute to the United States’ stagnant stillbirth rate, shape the experience of stillbirth for birthing parents, and define broader cultural conceptions of stillbirth.

Prior to joining Iowa Law, Lens was on faculty at the University of Arkansas School of Law and at Baylor University School of Law.

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