Fabiola Gretzinger ’22 helps maintain a global perspectiveon abortion laws as a legal fellow at the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) in Washington, D.C. She began her year-long fellowship this past September at the nonprofit global human rights organization, which focuses on protecting reproductive rights around the world through litigation, legal policy and advocacy.

Gretzinger received a Robina Post-Graduate Fellowship, which the Law School awards yearly, to support her role on the center’s Legal Strategies, Innovation and Research team. “My work wouldn’t have been possible without the financial support of the school,” she says.

From her vantage, Gretzinger sees a “wake-up call” in the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. The court’s ruling in June 2022 ended the constitutional right to abortion established nearly 50 years ago in its Roe v. Wade opinion, therefore enabling states to impose their own bans.

“Emotionally, it was difficult and it was a big step back,” she says, referring to her own beliefs rather than speaking for the center. “If anything, it has inspired me to keep fighting. Seeing what came from the Dobbs decision, I just don’t think that I’ll stop working on reproductive rights any time soon.” 

Maintaining a Global Map

Gretzinger’s responsibilities include helping maintain the center’s world abortion laws map, which records the legal status of abortion in countries around the globe. She also supports development of key legal principles related to abortion and monitors and analyzes national abortion laws around the world to track reproductive rights trends.

While some countries have removed abortion restrictions, the most significant recent change globally has been the Dobbs decision in the United States, Gretzinger says, adding that the Dobbs ruling underscored the need to work with lawmakers and the executive branch to advance reproductive rights rather than just focus on the courts.

Gretzinger appreciates the international focus of the center. She was born in Oregon, moved to Costa Rica when she was three, and lived in Peru for two years before returning to Costa Rica, where she graduated from high school. Before law school, she majored in political science at the University of Minnesota, moving to the United States in part to connect with her Midwestern roots. Growing up in Costa Rica influenced her interest in reproductive rights, she says. “It’s a very religious country where they have very different views on abortion and where we didn’t even talk about it.” She assured her mother that reproductive rights involve more than abortion and include maternal health, gender-based violence, and sex education, among other issues.

While at the Law School, Gretzinger took part in the Human Rights Litigation and International Advocacy Clinic, where she advocated at the United National level and developed litigation strategies for international human rights violations before federal courts. 

She previously worked on international human rights litigation as a legal intern at the Center for Justice and International Law as well as a part-time law clerk at Global Rights for Women. She also served as an immigration paralegal for almost three years. 

Continuing Her Work Long Term

When she graduated from law school, she was not sure whether to concentrate on litigation or policy advocacy work and is grateful she gets to do both in her fellowship. Gretzinger hopes to continue working with CRR in a permanent position after her fellowship and to move abroad. 

“I love the people I’ve met at the center,” she says. “They are very passionate about what they do.If the option presents itself, I would like to stay with the center long term because it aligns what I want to do in international women’s rights.”