‘The obstacles we face’: UMass dean denounces pro-life laws, affirmative action ban

Dean specializes in the study of disease factors in pregnant women

In a fall welcome email to students, a public university dean criticized pro-life laws, the SCOTUS affirmative action ban and the movement against critical race theory in schools.

“Over the summer, we witnessed the SCOTUS decision and its domino effect on other higher education policies in some states [and] the continued passing of anti-abortion laws that are increasingly impacting women’s access to safe and effective healthcare,” University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health Dean Anna Maria Siega-Riz told entering students.

Dean Siega-Riz (pictured) also spoke of “the attempts to reframe how slavery affected the lives of Blacks in this country” in her speech, posted to the UMass Amherst website Tuesday.