Dean and Professor of Law Judith Daar is the Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold Dean of Chase College of Law. She is the sixteenth dean in the 130-year history of the college. As a law school administrator, she has focused on helping students, faculty, and staff achieve their goals and aspirations; as a professor, she has taught core law school courses and specialty health law courses while concentrating her scholarship at the intersection of law, medicine and ethics. She is widely recognized as an expert in the area of law and assisted reproductive technologies.
Prior to her academic career, Dean Daar was a practicing attorney following graduation from Georgetown University Law Center. She has been an interim dean, associate dean and professor of law at Whittier Law School, in Costa Mesa, California, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, and a visiting professor of law at the University of California, Los Angles School of Law, the University of California, Irvine School of Law, Loyola School of Law, and the University of Houston Law Center. She became dean of Chase College of Law in July 2019.
Dean Daar has written books on legal and medical issues and published extensively in professional journals. She has spoken at numerous symposia and conferences, and has been involved with the American Bar Association and specialty associations, primarily in areas involving legal issues in assisted reproductive matters and medical ethics. She has also been recognized by students, alumni, and peers for her classroom teaching.
Dean Daar was interim dean of Whittier Law School for the 2016-17 academic year and had been associate dean for academic affairs from 2008 to 2012. As interim dean, she introduced curriculum changes designed to strengthen students’ analytical skills and restructured programming to prepare them for bar examinations.
Her most recent first-edition academic book is The New Eugenics: Selective Breeding in an Era of Reproductive Technologies, published in 2017 by Yale University Press. In 2006, she published the first and to date only casebook in the field of assisted reproductive technologies, Reproductive Technologies and the Law, followed by a second edition in 2013 and a third edition, joined by co-authors, in 2022.
She has published dozens of law review articles, primarily on topics related to bioethics and reproductive medicine. She has written for or been interviewed for specialty and general-interest publications on such topics as stem cell research, genetic testing of embryos, family formation through surrogacy and gamete donation, access to infertility care, and human cloning. Dean Daar is a frequent commentator for media outlets on emerging topics in reproductive medicine.
She has been actively involved with legal and medical issues nationally as chair of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Ethics Committee, as a liaison member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology Ethics Committee, an elected member of the American Law Institute, and a member of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies Committee on Informed Consent.
Her previous leadership roles include two terms as president of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Law, Medicine & Heath Care and vice-chair of the American Bar Association Real Property, Trusts & Estates Bioethics Committee.
As an educator, she has received the Teacher of the Year Award of the Whittier student body, the Teacher of the Year Award of the Whittier Alumni Association, and the Jay Healey Distinguished Teaching Award of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics. Her other awards include the Suheil J. Muasher, M.D. Distinguished Service Award of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine for service to the organization.
In addition to a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, she holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan. Dean Daar and her husband, Dr. Eric Daar, are the proud parents of four sons.
Books and book chapters
Reproductive Technologies and the Law (with Glenn Cohen, Seema Mohapatra, Sonia Sutter, Third Edition, Carolina Academic Press, forthcoming 2021)
The New Eugenics: Selective Breeding in an Era of Reproductive Technologies (Yale University Press, 2017)
Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Abortion (The Oxford Handbook of American Health Law, 2015)
The Role of Providers in Assisted Reproduction: Potential Conflicts, Professional Conscience and Personal Choice (The Oxford Handbook of Reproductive Ethics, 2016)
Reproductive Technologies and the Law (Second Edition, 2013)
Teacher’s Manual for Reproductive Technologies and the Law (Second Edition, LexisNexis, 2013)
Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States, contributing author (Thomson Gale, 2009)
Health Law Stories, contributing author (Aspen Publishers, 2009)
Reproductive Technologies and the Law (LexisNexis, 2006)
Teacher’s Manual for Reproductive Technologies and the Law (LexisNexis, 2006)
How to Design an Allocation Protocol: Public Reasoning for Socially Responsible Medicine (with Alex Rajczi, Aaron Kheriaty, Cyrus Dastur) Hastings Center Report (2021) (forthcoming)
Physician Autonomy and Discrimination: The Risks and Limits of Saying “No”, 115 Fertility & Sterility 263 (2021)
The Legal Liability Landscape and the Person/Property Divide, 1 Fertility & Sterility Reports 61 (2020)
A Clash at the Petri Dish: Transferring Embryos with Known Genetic Anomalies, 5 J. L. & Biosciences 219 (2018)
Ethics and Law: The May Tensions (with Felicia Cohn), 17 Am J. Bioethics 77 (2017)
Refocusing the Ethical Choices in Womb Transplantation (with Sigal Klipstein) 3 J. Law & Biosciences 383 (2016)
Whose Embryo is it Anyway? California Finally Takes a Stand, Orange County Lawyer (May 2016)
Marriage Equality: One Step Down the Path Toward Family Justice (with Erez Aloni), 57 Orange County Lawyer 22 (Aug. 2015)
Multi-Party Parenting in Genetics and Law: A View from Succession, 49 Fam. L. Quar. 71 (2015)
Distinctions in Disclosure: Mandated Informed Consent in Abortion and ART, 43 J. Law, Med. & Ethics 255 (2015)
The Outdated Pregnancy: Rethinking Traditional Markers in Reproduction, 35(4) J. Legal Med. 505 (2014)
Physician Duties in the Face of Deceitful Gamete Donors, Disobedient Surrogate Mothers, and Divorcing Parents, 16 Virtual Mentor 43 (2014).
Federalizing Embryo Transfers: Taming the Wild West of Reproductive Medicine? 23(2) Columbia J. Gender & L. 257 (2012)
One Small Step for Genetics, One Giant Leap for Genocide?, 42 Rutgers L. J. 705 (2012)
The Case for a Parental Duty to Use Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis for Medical Benefit (with Janet Malek), 12 Am. J. Bioethics 3 (2012)
Is There Life After Death?: The Rise of the High Tech Family, 54 Orange County Lawyer 16 (2012)
Harmony and Compensation for Oocyte Providers (with Frances Batzer), 11 Am. J. of Bioethics 39 (2011)
ART Through the Ages: The Pioneers’ Perspective on Reproductive Medicine, 54(1) Perspectives in Biology & Med. 115 (2011) (reviewing Susan L. Crockin & Howard W. Jones, Legal Conceptions: The Evolving Law and Policy of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (2010))
In Memoriam: A Dedication to George Onyango, 31 Whittier L. Rev. 377 (2010)
Genetic Screening of Sperm and Oocyte Donors: Ethical and Policy Implications (with Robert Brzyski), 302 J. Am. Med. Ass’n 1702 (2009); letter and reply published at J. Am. Med. Ass’n (2010)
Embryonic Genetics, 2 St. Louis U. J. Health L. & Policy 81 (2009)
Accessing Reproductive Technologies: Invisible Barriers, Indelible Harms, 23 Berk. J. Gender, Law & Justice 18 (2008)
Decoding the Stem Cell Debate: A Primer Par Excellence (book review), 36 J. Law, Med. & Ethics 184 (2008)
Dreaming in Chromosomes (book review), 48 Tech. & Culture 20 (2006)
The Case for a Genetic Bill of Rights (book review), American Journal of Bioethics (2006)
HIV and Fertility Care: Embarking on a Path of Knowledge and Access (with Eric Daar), 85 Fertility & Sterility 298 (2006)
Current Controversies in Reproductive Medicine, commissioned paper by the Institute on Biotechnology & the Human Future (2006)
ART and the Search for Perfectionism: On Selecting Gender, Genes and Gametes, 9 J. Gender, Race & Just. 241 (2005)
State Law Regulation of Reproductive Technologies: A Study of Comity and Contrast, commissioned paper by the Institute on Biotechnology & the Human Future (2005)
The Prospect of Human Cloning: Improving Nature or Dooming the Species? 33 Seton Hall L. Rev. 511 (2003)
Book Review of The Supreme Court in the Intimate Lives of Americans: Birth, Sex, Marriage, Childbearing, and Death, by Howard Ball (NYU Press 2002), Trial Magazine (Feb. 2003)
Disclosure Dilemmas in Genetic Research: Balancing Harms, Harmony and Humanity, 24 Whittier L. Rev. 454 (2003)
Regulating the Fiction of Informed Consent in ART Medicine, 1(4) Am. J. Bioethics 19 (2001)
Frozen Embryo Disputes Revisited: A Trilogy of Procreation Avoidance Approaches, 29(2) J.L. Med. & Ethics 197 (2001)
Preconception Sex Selection: Sliding the Slope Toward Human Cloning, 1(1) Am. J. Bioethics 23 (2001)
Assisted Reproductive Technologies and the Pregnancy Process: Developing an Equality Model to Protect Reproductive Liberties, 25 Am. J. L. & Med. 454 (1999)
Resolving Disputes Over Frozen Embryos, 8 Tex. J. of Women & L. 285 (1999)
The Future of Human Cloning: Prescient Lessons From Assisted Medical Ethics Past, 8 So. Cal. Interdisc. L.J. 167 (1998)
Telemedicine: Legal and Practical Implications, 19 Whittier L. Rev. 3 (1997)
Regulating Reproductive Technologies: Panacea or Paper Tiger?, 34 Hous. L. Rev. 609 (1997)
Direct Democracy and Bioethical Choices: Voting Life and Death at the Ballot Box, 28 Mich. J. L. Ref. 799 (1995)
Medical Futility and Implications for Physician Autonomy, 21 Am. J. L. & Med. 221 (1995)
Informed Consent: Defining Limits Through Therapeutic Parameters, 4 Bioethics Bull. 1 (1995); 16 Whittier L. Rev. 189 (1995); cited by the court in Whiteside v. Lukson, 947 P.2d 1263 (1997)
A Clash at the Bedside: Patient Autonomy v. A Physician’s Professional Conscience, 44 Hastings L.J. 1241 (1993)
Selective Reduction of Multiple Pregnancy: Lifeboat Ethics in the Womb, 25 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 773 (1992)
Who’s Your Daddy: Ancestry Tracing Shatters Truths, (with Sigal Klipstein) Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 31, 2019
Arizona Embryo Law Shortchanges Children (with Michele Goodwin), Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 4, 2018
California Supreme Court to Consider Postmortem Conception, Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 20, 2018
Surrogacy Solicitation in Congress a New Wrinkle in Workplace Misconduct, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Dec. 11, 2017
Tending to Veterans’ Fertility Needs, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Feb. 18, 2016
Interest Groups Add New Element to Embryo Custody Battles, Law360 Expert Analysis, Feb. 3, 2016
Reproductive Liberty Extends to “Social Surrogacy,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, Sept. 3, 2015
Celebrity Embryo Dispute Could Yield Long-Awaited Precedent, Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 28, 2015
Cases Urge Caution Using Known Donors, Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 20, 2014
Three Genetic Parents – For One Healthy Baby, (with Erez Aloni) Los Angeles Times, March 21, 2014
Slalom Custody Battle Upends Family Law, (with Deborah Forman), Los Angeles Daily Journal, Feb. 21, 2014
Pending Sperm Donor Bill Threatens to Undo Family Ties, Los Angeles Daily Journal, July 10, 2013
Is Sperm Donor Ever a Dad?, blog post, Harvard Bill of Health, July 9, 2013
Five Signs Your Surrogacy Agreement Has Gone Awry, Harvard Bill of Health, March 6, 2013
Who Chooses? Allocating Abortion Rights During Surrogacy, Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 13, 2013
Sperm Donation as Risky Business, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Jan. 16, 2013
Three’s a Crowd, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Oct. 11, 2012
Is There Life After Death? Let the Supreme Court Decide, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Jan. 11, 2012
Another Scandal for Reproductive Law: Is it time to Stop the Commercial Baby-Market?, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Aug. 15, 2011
Civic Health is on the Decline, Daily Breeze, Sept. 14, 2009
Death of Aging Mother Raises More Questions about IVF Rules, Los Angeles Daily Journal, July 29, 2009
Octuplets Deliver Opportunity to Rethink U.S. Health Policy, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Feb. 4, 2009
Selling Eggs Isn’t Selling Our Souls (with Russell Korobkin), Los Angeles Times, Aug. 30, 2006
Church’s Civil Disobedience Is Not Aimed at Justice for All, Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 28, 2006
Court Rightly Limit Executive’s Medical Powers, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Jan. 20, 2006
Don’t Outlaw Gender Selection, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Nov. 8, 2005
On “First Monday,” Looming Matters of Life and Death, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Oct. 3, 2005
Patients Need Range of Choices in the Face of Pain and Suffering (with Erwin Chemerinsky), Daily News of Los Angeles, April 8, 2005
Legal System Stands Strong, Avoids Constitutional Crisis, Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 25, 2005
Oregon’s Right to Decide (with Erwin Chemerinsky), Raleigh News & Observer, March 4, 2005
GOP Congress Has Stem-Cell Initiative in Its Sites, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Nov. 9, 2004.
The Reel Story of Human Cloning: Drama Gone Wild, posted April 2, 2004, at http://www.picturingjustice.com
Tragic State: In Florida, Woman’s Life, Death Turn into Political Game, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Oct. 29, 2003
Vaccine Program against Smallpox Threatens Loss of Medical Privacy for Americans, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Jan. 31, 2003
We Can Tackle Cloning Responsibly, Los Angeles Times (Orange County edition), June 2, 2002
Setting the Stage for Future Medicine, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Jan. 10, 2002
Terrorists Lack Influences of Women, Los Angeles Times (Orange County edition), Nov. 18, 2001
Terrorizing Terminally Ill Patients, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Nov. 15, 2001
Public’s Fear of Cloning Echoes Past Cries against Technology, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Aug. 17, 2001
Helping People Die with Dignity, Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 17, 2001
Bush Indeed Breaches Church-State Wall, Los Angeles Times (Orange County edition), Feb. 11, 2001; also printed as Faith’s White House Foothold, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Feb. 12, 2001
Lifeboat Ethics in the Nursery, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Oct. 16, 2000
Physical Beauty Is Only Egg Deep, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 28, 1999
Contract Does Not Override a Woman’s Right to Use Fertilized Eggs, Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 22, 1998; also printed in Orange County Reporter, June 29, 1998
Selected recent invited lectures
Harvard Medical School, Lawarence Lader Endowed Lectureship, "Emerging Issues in Reproductive Medicine," October 2020
University of Chicago Medical Center/North Shore Health System, Grand Rounds, “The Role of Provider Autonomy in ART,” August 2020
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Requests to Transfer Genetically “Affected” Embryos,” April 2020
Cincinnati Bar Association, Young Lawyers CLE, “Emerging Issues in Reproductive Technologies,” March 2020
ABA International Family Law Conference, Dominican Republic, “ART and the Constitution,” May 2019
University of Hong Kong, Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing, “Focusing on Informed Consent in Genome Editing,” November 2018
Canadian Fertility & Andrology Society, 2018 Annual Meeting, “Fee Models and Compensation for Gamete and Embry Donors,” September 2018
Stanford Law School, The 2018 BioLaw Lapalooza, “Informed Consent and Embryo Mosaicism,” March 2018
University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Law, Third Annual Health Law Lecture, “A Clash at the Petri Dish,” November 2017
University of Utah School of Law, Symposium on TRAP Laws, “Abortion Regulation and Impact on Providers,” November 2017
American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Annual Meeting, “Transgender Family Formation: Legal and Ethical Aspects,” October 2017
IntegraMed Council of Physicians and Scientists, Annual Symposium, “Patient Requests for Transfer of Genetically Anomalous Embryos,” May 2017
Harvard Law School, Center for Health Law Policy, Bioethics and Biotechnology, “A Clash at the Petri Dish: Transferring Genetically Anomalous Embryos,” April 2017
Harvard Medical School, Center for Bioethics, “Honoring and Declining Patient Requests in Fertility Care,” April 2017
American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Annual Meeting symposium moderator, “Germline Genome Editing: Perspectives from Law, Science and Ethics,” October 2016
The Williams Institute, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, “Social Infertility and Family Formation,” October 2016
Rutgers Law School, Symposium on Fetal Bodies, “The Bright Line between Embryos and Fetuses: Wither the Distinction in Biology, Medicine and Law?” June 2016
Boston University Law School, Health Law Professors Conference, “Embryonic Selection in IVF: Patient Choice v. Physician Autonomy,” June 2016
Stanford Law School, Law & The Biosciences Program, “Social Infertility and the Quest for Parenthood,” February 2016