10 questions. Defying the Odds
| Author | Jenny B. Davis |
| Pages | 10-11 |
of a woman who had a cesarea n sec-
tion against her wishes a nd suered
a lacerated bladder.
“The time is now,” Bast says.
“Women want to control their
body in choosing their manner of
delivery.”
Bast has received ba cking from
the BRBA and NAPW in the for m
of funding, finding ex perts and rais-
ing awareness. He says the support is
crucial becau se most plaintis attor-
neys in reproductive justice c ases are
solo or small-firm practit ioners,
while the defense is backed by an
army of attorneys, m any at large
firms with tremendous resources.
Reproductive law is about “chang-
ing the balance of power” in deliver y
rights, says professor Ellen Wright
Clayton , an attorney and phy sician
who teaches at Vanderbilt Universi-
ty’s law and medical schools. She
sees reproductive law as a “pushback
against the medica lization of child-
birth and the wi llingness of hos-
pitals to override the w ishes of the
woman.”
Clayton says dispa rate treatment
of minority and low-income women
within the medica l system is a signif-
icant problem this area of law could
address. She points to a hi story of
racism in the health c are system that
disproportionately aec ts women of
color and non-native English speak-
ers. “If you’re not seen as empow-
ered, you’re not empowered,” she
says.
Clayton feels the solution lies in
empowering women before they are
in active childbir th. “I don’t think
you’re going to litigate your way out
after the fac t,” she says. “The courts
have been hostile to these issue s.”
Instead, she says, there should be
better communicat ion between phy-
sicians and patients—and it should
take place before you check into t he
hospital. If you want one mode of
delivery and your doctor is oppose d,
“You’re not going to have that con-
versation in the middle of delivery.”
Bast recommends that a woma n
make a birth plan ( basically a con-
tract) with her clinicia n to ensure
that her wishes are followed. “Plan
ahead. By the time you’re in labor,
there is no real weapon,” he says.
—Darlene Ricker
Opening Statements
10 || ABA JOURNAL JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2019
Society often measure s misfortune with statis tics, and Ieshia Cham ps could have been
included in any number of d epressing data sets. Like the num ber of Texas children in
foster care; the percentage of H ouston-area students wh o drop out of high school; the
percentage of those teens wh o end up homeless and later preg nant. But Champs had
something more powerful t han her circumstances: a drea m. Since she was a young
girl, Champs wanted to be a law yer. Throughout the highs and lows of her li fe, she held
fast to that dream—even when sh e could no longer see a path to ach ieve it. But achieve
it she did. This past Octob er, with the help of her family, friends and ch urch, Champs
became a statistic on ce again. She was amon g the 77.87 percent of first-time test tak-
ers who passed the July 20 18 Texas bar exam. In December, she accepted a p osition as
an assistant county at torney with the Harris Count y Attorney’s Oce, where she’ll be
working in the Children’s Protection division.
It’s been a long journey, but you’ve
finally reached the destination
you’ve dreamed of since elementary
school. How did you arrive at the
decision to become a law yer?
When I was 8 or 9 years old, I was
placed in foster care bec ause my parents
were both addicted to drugs . I had been in
foster care for about a week when I woke
up and found new clothes on the s ide of
my bed. I was really excited bec ause I
hadn’t had new clothe s in years. I thought,
this life is so much better than w here I
had come from. I remember wondering
what I could do to help my frien ds back
home who weren’t as luck y as I was now.
That same day was career day a t my new
school. There was an attorn ey who spoke
to our class, and she went aroun d and
asked everyone what they wanted to be
when they grew up. I had never though t
about it before, and I sai d, “I don’t know.”
She said, “Well, wha t do you like to do?”
I said, “I would like to help pe ople.” She
told me about the dierent t ypes of law-
yers and how they helped peop le, and
then she said, “I th ink you would be an
excellent lawyer, and I look forw ard to
seeing you in the courtroo m.”
How inspiring! And th at dream
stayed with you, even when times
got tough?
Yes. By the time I was in high school, I
had lived in probably six or seven di er-
ent homes. Sometim es a family would let
me stay for months, some times a friend
would sneak me in to spend the n ight
after her parents went to bed . There was
also a time when I was homel ess. I would
stay in some vacant apa rtments and sit up
all night on the stairs or in t he breezeway.
Through it all, I was still thi nking about
being an attorney somed ay. But with no
guidance, I dropped ou t of high school in
my sophomore year. When I dropped out,
I realized that my dream was never goin g
to happen. I had more imm ediate con-
cerns, like, “What a m I going to eat?” and
“Where am I going to sleep? ”
As you got older and star ted a
family, your life began to stab ilize.
Then 2009 happ ened. It was both a
horrible year and a tra nsformative
one. Tell me about it.
Things had really star ted to turn
around for me. I met a man , we had a child
together, and I started attendi ng church
and getting my relations hip with God on
track. In Januar y 2009, I received the
news that I was expecting my fo urth child.
I was so excited. But it turned ou t to be
the most traumatic year of my li fe. Every
month, there was a dierent obstacle.
In early February, I foun d out my kids’
dad—[then] my fiance—had s tage 4 can-
cer. On Feb. 24, while he was doing one
of his chemo treatments , I got a call say-
ing my house was on fire. I lost ever ything
I owned that day. My oldest was in sch ool,
but my mom was at my home watchin g
my youngest children. They go t out just in
time. In March, I lost my jo b. In April, I was
told I needed to make funeral arrange-
ments because my fianc e wasn’t going
to make it. I said, “Oh Lord , I can’t take
it.” Then my mother had a sligh t stroke.
In May, we receive a call unexpec tedly
that my fiance’s dad had passed away
from cancer. During all of this turm oil,
I was like, “What’s next?” I co uldn’t do
Defying the Odds
THIS SINGLE MOTHER OF FIVE OVERCAME A LIFETIME OF OBSTACLES
TO ACHIEVE HER LIFELONG DREAM OF BECOMING A LAWYER
10 QUESTIONS
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