Naisha Mercury, J.D. is Equal Justice Works Fellow with the Network for Public Health Law-Mid-States region. Prior to joining the Network Naisha worked on community centered legal and health initiatives. She was a Resident at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, focusing on initiatives and research centered around reproductive health, women’s health, and family impacts within the justice system.

Naisha also previously served as a Law Clerk with the Network. She then honed her expertise in reproductive health research as a Public Health Law Intern with at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Naisha received her Bachelor of Science in Health Service Management from East Carolina University and later attended Elon University School of Law, where she received her J.D. While studying at Elon Law, Naisha reestablished the school’s Society of Health Law and Bioethics chapter, where she served as the 2023-2024 President.

Articles & Resources

The Public Health Impacts of the 2025 Executive Orders: An Overview of the Network’s Executive Order Tracker

WebinarsPublic Health AuthorityEnvironment, Climate and HealthHealth Information and Data SharingEmergency Legal Preparedness and ResponseReproductive Health and Equity Executive Order Watch: Protecting America’s Health from Harmful Directives

February 26, 2026
by Emma Kaeser, Naisha Mercury, Nina Belforte and Phyllis Jeden

by Overview March 26, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. CTThe past year was filled with federal actions that greatly impacted public health, both in…

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­THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT OF THE 2025 FEDERAL EXECUTIVE ORDERS

TrackerExecutive Order Watch: Protecting America’s Health from Harmful DirectivesMechanisms for Advancing Public HealthMechanisms for Advancing Health Equity

January 30, 2026
by Emma Kaeser, Naisha Mercury, Nina Belforte and Phyllis Jeden

Federal policies shape the environments that determine whether people and communities can live healthy lives. Since Donald Trump took office for his second term as president on January 20, 2025, he has signed a series of Executive Orders (EOs), many of which impact public health. The Network has created an EO tracker which compiles the 2025 EOs most relevant to the public health space through a lens of Health in All Policies (HiAP). Inclusion in this tracker is not exhaustive, and content may be updated or revised as additional Executive Orders are issued or identified.

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Reproductive Health Care: Anticipated Changes and Potential Impacts Under the New Administration

WebinarsReproductive Health and Equity Maternal and Child HealthMedicaidHealth Information and Data Sharing

September 24, 2025
by Emma Kaeser, Kathleen Hoke and Naisha Mercury

This webinar will offer attendees an overview of changes in law and policy that impact access to reproductive health care directly or through indirect measures that deter pregnant people from seeking care. This webinar is an extension of a workshop held at the recent 2025 Public Health Law Conference and the bulk of the time will be devoted to attendees’ questions on the topics presented.

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Bleeding Behind Bars: Addressing Menstrual Equity in Carceral Facilities

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

August 5, 2025
by Naisha Mercury

Menstrual health is a major area of reproductive health often overshadowed for the estimated 79.8 percent of those in carceral facilities of reproductive age. For some, menstrual hygiene products are easily accessible, whereas for others it is a constant struggle. Meaningful progress toward comprehensive menstrual equity for all incarcerated individuals remains limited and inconsistent across jurisdictions. 

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­Restrictions on the Right to Travel for Out-of-State Abortion Care

Issue BriefReproductive Health and Equity 

May 28, 2025
by Kathleen Hoke and Naisha Mercury

As a result of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs, advocates on both sides of the abortion issue turned to state constitutions to determine the contours of a right to abortion or to make clear no such right exists under state law. When abortion was on the ballot in 2022, voters in several states rallied to enshrine the right to abortion in state constitutions and rejected attempts to further restrict abortions in their states. In the wake of these successful ballot measures, state legislators throughout the country have sought to amend ballot initiative processes ahead of the 2024 elections. This fact sheet outlines recent proposed amendments by several states that are intended to thwart pro-abortion ballot initiatives.

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