By If/When/How
To learn more about the emerging lawyers who are embarking on our two-year-long Reproductive Justice Fellowship program, If/When/How asked five questions to each one of our ’26-’28 RJ Fellows. Here’s what Hayley Broich shared with us.
Tell us the basics: Your name, law school, and what placement organization you’ll be at for your Fellowship.
Hayley Broich, Brooklyn Law School, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem.
Who are you beyond that? Whatever you want to share to highlight your biography or speak to the experience you’re bringing to the Fellowship.
I am also a sister, aunt, daughter, partner, and friend. I love musical theatre and knitting. I am a bit of a homebody, so I tend to spend my free time reading, baking, or watching reality tv. But, I also love to explore New York City, where I call home, and will never say no to an opportunity to see live music.
What are you most excited about as you start your Fellowship? Why are you driven to focus on family defense?
I am most excited to work on policy that reflects the lived experience of clients that NDS represents. Balancing the fight for broad scale, systemic changes, while also supporting families individually feels very important to me because it cannot be one or the other, both avenues must be addressed. I am driven to work in family defense because I feel very passionately about families staying together and being supported in order to achieve true reproductive justice.
What would be the one thing you want people to know about family defense and reproductive justice?
One thing that I really want people to know about family defense is how devastating it can be to have the state involved in families’ lives. I want people to think about this side of the issue as quickly as they think about reproductive health and reproductive rights when they hear the term reproductive justice, because it does not end after various birth outcomes. In fact, reproductive justice is just getting started at that point. Having the tools and ability to raise families in safe and healthy environments is such a core piece of this issue and I want people to be willing and ready to think about it expansively.
What’s one new, inspiring, or fascinating thing you’ve been into lately? It can be a hobby, album, movie, internet trend, research rabbit hole, etc.
Since graduating law school and taking the Bar exam, I’ve been relearning how to have relaxing time and pick up my hobbies again. Specifically, I’ve done a lot of knitting and reading for fun this summer, two things I didn’t get to do a ton of these past three years, and I’m very happy to have them back in my life.