Georgetown Law’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and the Howard and Georgeanna Jones Foundation for Reproductive Medicine (“the Organizers”) are pleased to announce the Post-Dobbs Assisted Reproductive Technologies and the Law Writing Competition to encourage original writing on the impacts of the Dobbs decision on assisted reproductive technologies (“ART”).

The Jones Foundation promotes the historical vision and impact of IVF pioneers, Drs. Howard and Georgeanna Jones, and as part of its mission to advance scientific and medical research in the field of reproductive medicine, strives to educate the general public, scientific leaders, legislators and public policy leaders to help make informed decisions regarding fertility treatment and reproductive medicine. Foundation grants have furthered the field by promoting high quality research in reproductive medicine, law, ethics, and policy. With the potential impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs on ART providers and patients rapidly unfolding in real-time, this competition is intended to provide an opportunity to explore these critical issues, raise public awareness of, and provide guidance on, future directions for the assisted reproductive technologies and those who provide and utilize them.

Entrants are invited to submit papers exploring how the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs may affect access to assisted reproductive technologies and discussing what comes next. Preference will be given to papers that present an original perspective, provide analysis and insights, examine emerging questions, or that propose novel legal structure to engage with the impacts this decision can have on access to ARTs.

PRIZE
One winner will be selected, with a prize of $5,000. Awarded by the Howard and Georgeanna Jones Foundation for Reproductive Medicine. The winning paper will be presented at the O’Neill Institute’s Conversation Series and will receive support and guidance to navigate the publishing process.

COMPETITION RULES
Papers will be accepted from students, practitioners, academics, physicians, fellows, scientific investigators and policymakers working at the intersection of law and ART, residing and working in the United States only. The paper must be the author’s own work, although students may incorporate feedback received as part of an academic course or supervised writing project. The paper must not have been published or committed for publication in another journal; The Organizers must have the first right of publication for any winning essay.

Papers will be evaluated based on thoroughness of research and analysis, relevance to the competition topic, relevance to current legal and/or public policy debates, originality of thought and clarity of expression. Papers should be 2500 – 7500 words (not including footnotes) and be submitted in Times New Roman Size 12 font, single spaced. Footnotes must conform to the 20th edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. Papers must be in English.

COMPETITION DEADLINE
The deadline for submissions is 11:59 p.m. EST on June 1, 2023. Papers must be submitted via email to either: lawoneillinstitute@georgetown.edu or Mary Davies mary.davies@jonesfound.org. The email subject line should be: “Assisted Reproductive Technologies – Writing Competition.” The file must be submitted in Word format, with the file named in the format “LastName_FirstName_WritingCompetition”.

Papers must be preceded by a cover page (included in the same Word file) containing the following information:

• • Full name of Author
  • Email Address
  • Phone Number
  • The following affirmation: “I affirm that this paper is an original work of scholarship authored by me. The paper (or any variation thereof authored by me) has not been published, or committed for publication, in any other publication. If this paper is selected as a winner, I grant The Organizers the right of first publication of the paper. I have read and agree to the Competition Rules”
• THE FINE PRINT
• The judges’ decisions are final.
• The authors of papers that are selected for publication will be required to sign an agreement warranting the entry’s originality and granting the organizers first publication rights.
• Winners will be required to submit a completed W-9, affidavit of eligibility, tax acknowledgement, and liability release for tax purposes as a condition to receiving the cash prize. All forms must be completed and returned within 14 days of receipt, or prizes will be considered forfeited and another winner may be named.
• If a potential winner does not respond within 14 days of the first attempt to contact them, or if the contact is returned as non-deliverable, the potential winner forfeits all rights to be named as a winner or receive a prize, and an alternate winner may be chosen.
• Entrants may submit one entry. Jointly authored papers are eligible, provided all authors meet the eligibility requirements for the competition. If a winning paper has more than one author the prize will be split equally among the co-authors.
• Winners will be solely responsible for all federal, state, local or other taxes levied on the prize, if any such taxes apply. Cash prizes will only be paid in U.S. Dollars via check or bank transfer. Any bank fees that may be charged as a part of the award process will be deducted from the prize.
• The Organizers are not responsible for incorrect or inaccurate entry information, late, lost or misdirected entries, or for computer errors or technical failures, including by reason of any bug, computer virus or other failure. In the unlikely event that no entries are of sufficient quality to merit an award, the Organizers reserves the right not to award any prizes.
• The Writing Competition is governed by U.S. law and all relevant federal, state and local rules and regulations apply. By entering all entrants agree that the competition shall be governed by the laws of the District of Columbia and Virginia and that the courts of the District of Columbia and Virginia shall have exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute or litigation relating to or arising from the competition. Void where prohibited by law.
• By participating, each entrant agrees to the rules of the Writing Competition and the decisions of the Organizers and releases, discharges and holds harmless the Organizers and each of their respective officers, directors, members, employees, independent contractors, agents, representatives, successors and assigns from any and all liability whatsoever in connection with the Writing Competition, including without limitation legal claims, costs, injuries, loss or damages, demands or actions of any kind.
• This Writing Competition may be cancelled, modified or terminated for any reason.

QUESTIONS?
Email: Mary Davies mary.davies@jonesfound.org or lawoneillinstitute@georgetown.edu