Jennifer Piatt, J.D., (“Jen”) is a deputy director with the Network’s Western Region Office. She also serves as a Research Scholar and Co-Director of the Center for Public Health Law and Policy at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University. She earned her J.D. at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in the spring of 2018.

After law school, Jen served as a law clerk to Vice Chief Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer of the Arizona Supreme Court, providing research and drafting assistance and preparing bench memos for cases granted review. Jen also has experience working in private practice as a pharmacy regulatory attorney at Quarles & Brady LLP, in the firm’s Phoenix, Arizona office. In this role, Jen advised multiple clients on pharmacy and drug wholesale compliance and regulatory issues, provided contract drafting assistance, assisted with state pharmacy and wholesale licensing, and assisted clients going before state boards of pharmacy. Jen now concentrates her work with the Center for Public Health Law and the Network in areas of emergency preparedness and response, Crisis Standards of Care, vaccination, and reproductive health.

Articles & Resources

Guidance: State COVID-19 Emergency Declarations

GuidanceCOVID-19Emergency Legal Preparedness and Response

June 1, 2023
by Erica White, James G. Hodge, Jr. and Jennifer Piatt

Since the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, every state, most territories, hundreds of tribal governments, and thousands of municipalities have declared various levels of emergencies. This document provides a comprehensive snapshot of the current status of various state-level emergency declarations issued in response to COVID-19 based on data provided by the National Governors Association, the Network for Public Health Law, and other sources.

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Legal and Health Care Repercussions of the End of the National Public Health Emergency

Issue BriefHealth and Health CareMedicaidCOVID-19COVID-19 ResourcesCOVID-19 and Health EquityEmergency Legal Preparedness and Response

May 30, 2023
by Erica White, James G. Hodge, Jr. and Jennifer Piatt

This issue brief examines the end of multiple COVID-19 enhanced government authorities and the significant implications related to the cost and availability of COVID-19 vaccines and tests, telehealth and HIPAA flexibilities, Medicare and Medicaid expansions, private health insurance coverages, and immigration policies.

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Post-Dobbs Abortion Access Routes: A Primer

PrimerReproductive Health and Equity 

May 25, 2023
by Erica White and Jennifer Piatt

In light of the withdrawal of federal rights to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) & restrictive state abortion laws, this Primer (1) describes a series of “open door” legal pathways to access abortion services in the U.S., (2) explains who may be able to utilize a specific pathway to access abortion services, and (3) delineates various actual or potential limitations related to accessing abortions via each pathway.

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Medication Abortion: A Federal-State Legal Tug-of-War

Fact SheetReproductive Health and Equity Maternal and Child HealthLegislation and Legal ChallengesHealth and Health Care

May 25, 2023
by Jennifer Piatt

Medication abortion (or the “abortion pill”) generally refers to the use of two medications—mifepristone and misoprostol—to safely end an early pregnancy. Importantly, it does not refer to use of Plan B emergency contraceptive; in December 2022, FDA updated Plan B’s packaging insert to expressly acknowledge that it functions to prevent conception, not to end a pregnancy. In 2020, medication abortion was used for 53 percent of all U.S. abortions. However, since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision on June 24, 2022, 15 states have implemented near-total abortion bans (though bans in select states including Indiana, Ohio, and Wyoming are currently blocked by state courts).

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First Amendment Implications: Reproductive Rights

Fact SheetReproductive Health and Equity Maternal and Child HealthLegislation and Legal ChallengesHealth and Health Care

April 3, 2023
by Erica White and Jennifer Piatt

Medication abortion (or the “abortion pill”) generally refers to the use of two medications—mifepristone and misoprostol—to safely end an early pregnancy. Importantly, it does not refer to use of Plan B emergency contraceptive; in December 2022, FDA updated Plan B’s packaging insert to expressly acknowledge that it functions to prevent conception, not to end a pregnancy. In 2020, medication abortion was used for 53 percent of all U.S. abortions. However, since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision on June 24, 2022, 15 states have implemented near-total abortion bans (though bans in select states including Indiana, Ohio, and Wyoming are currently blocked by state courts).

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Key Health Policy Changes Promoting Reproductive Justice

Law & Policy InsightsReproductive Health and Equity Mechanisms for Advancing Health Equity

March 22, 2023
by Jennifer Piatt

Compared to White women, women of color in the U.S. are more likely to be uninsured, live in areas without easy access to contraception, and lack resources necessary to cover health care costs. Consequently, the legal impacts of the overturning of Roe vs Wade have predominantly fallen on pregnancy-capable individuals of color. Despite current serious limitations on access, several states have recently taken important steps toward reproductive justice through the adoption of key health policies.

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Six Policies that Advance Black Health and Wellbeing

Policy BriefMechanisms for Advancing Public HealthCivic Engagement and VotingMechanisms for Advancing Health EquityReproductive Health and Equity 

February 23, 2023
by April Shaw, Betsy Lawton, Dawn Hunter, Jennifer Piatt, Kathleen Hoke, Mosalewa Ani and Sara Rogers

In honor of Black History Month, Network attorneys and staff have highlighted six policies that have the power to reduce health disparities and improve outcomes for Black people and communities of color throughout the United States. This policy brief serves as a practical tool to help public health professionals, leaders, and partners share strategies that can advance, rather than threaten, Black health and wellbeing over the long-term.

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State-Based Abortion Protections

Fact SheetReproductive Health and Equity Maternal and Child HealthLegislation and Legal ChallengesHealth and Health Care

January 20, 2023
by Jennifer Piatt

In light of the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24, 2022, this Memo examines current state-based abortion protections via (1) state statutory and constitutional language, (2) state Supreme Court decisions, (3) state constitutional amendment proposals, and (4) litigation addressing state-based constitutional abortion rights.

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COVID-19 FAQs for Michigan Local Health Departments

FAQMichiganMid-States RegionPublic Health Advocacy and Decision-MakingPublic Health Authority

September 29, 2022
by Carrie Waggoner, Colleen Healy Boufides, Denise Chrysler, Jennifer Piatt, Kathleen Hoke, Peter D. Jacobson and Sallie Milam

In addressing questions regarding executive decision-making, we use the following general approach. Michigan’s Public Health Code grants public health officials considerable discretion to protect the public against communicable disease and environmental health threats. To exercise their broad grant of authority, the executive must ask three key questions: Can I? Must I? Should I?

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Key Federal Responses to Protect Abortion Access and Promote Reproductive Health Post-Dobbs

Fact SheetReproductive Health and Equity Legislation and Legal ChallengesHealth and Health Care

September 16, 2022
by Jennifer Piatt

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24, 2022, the federal government has taken specific actions designed to preserve and promote access to abortions and promote reproductive health. This fact sheet examines key responses from the Biden administration that attempt to protect legal abortion access through specific actions by the (1) White House, (2) Department of Health & Human Services (HHS); (3) Department of Justice (DOJ); and (4) other federal entities.

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Post-Dobbs Legal Avenues to Abortion Access

Fact SheetReproductive Health and Equity Legislation and Legal ChallengesHealth and Health Care

September 16, 2022
by Jennifer Piatt

The Supreme Court’s decision on June 24, 2022 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Dobbs) overturning Roe v. Wade (Roe) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey has resulted in severe limitations to abortion access among select states nationally. In the aftermath of the elimination of the fundamental constitutional right to abortion, identifying legal options to abortion access is critical to ensure the health and safety of individuals across the nation. This fact sheet illustrates select legal avenues to access abortion services in the post-Dobbs United States under core specific categories.

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