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IU McKinney Professor Aila Hoss is a co-author of a new article, “The Indian Country Abortion Safe Harbor Fallacy,” on the Law and Political Economy Project (LPE) website.

Following the leaked draft of the United States Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, several states have moved to restrict access to abortion. In response, commentators have raised the possibility of an abortion “safe harbor” on tribal lands.

Hoss and the other authors of the piece—Lauren van Schilfgaarde, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Tribal Legal Development Clinic Director at UCLA School of Law; Sarah Deer, distinguished professor at the University of Kansas; Ann E. Tweedy, associate professor at the University of South Dakota School of Law; and Stacy Leeds, Foundation Professor of Law and Leadership at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law­­­­—argue against that assumption.

“In theory, this idea rests on a simple premise: state governments lack the power to regulate tribal lands, so tribal governments could open abortion clinics that serve as islands of access in conservative states,” the authors write. “…this proposal overlooks important legal, financial, political, and ethical considerations that, in our view, make the possibility of abortion safe harbors highly unlikely.”

In the wake of Oklahoma’s passage of restrictive abortion bans and the Dobbs leak, Professor Hoss has been a sought-after expert on abortion in Indian country. She has been interviewed by the Tulsa World, Native American Calling, KOSU NPR, Marketplace, among others.