Category: Justice & Law

Here’s What the Biden Administration Can Do About Abortion Before Trump Takes Office

Though President-elect Donald Trump has waffled on how his administration might handle abortion policy, antiabortion activists are already exerting a pressure campaign for the incoming Trump administration to take a hardline approach and undo many of the policies set in place by the Biden administration.

Still, with two months left before Biden leaves office, there are some areas where legal scholars and attorneys suggest the outgoing administration could still take action, even if the impact may be narrow or short-lived.

‘Take Beauty From Ashes’: Advocating for Felony Murder Law Reform

In 2017, Briana Martinson, then 20, and Megan Cater, 19, went to the apartment of a man whom they believed had stolen medication from Martinson, with the intent to steal it back. By the time they arrived at the apartment, Martinson and Cater were joined by several other individuals, two of whom were older men that the women did not know. According to Martinson, one of the men threatened them with a gun before entering, at which point she realized, “Okay, there’s no turning back.”

In the end, they were each sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison for aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional felony murder.

Was this a case of wrongful conviction? It’s complicated.

From Subsidized Housing to Homeownership: A Single Mom’s Journey of Growth, Grit and Guaranteed Income

Front & Center began as first-person accounts of Black mothers living in Jackson, Miss., receiving a guaranteed income. Moving into the fourth year and next phase of this series, we’re expanding our focus beyond a single policy intervention to include a broader examination of systemic issues impacting Black women experiencing poverty. This means diving deeper into the interconnected challenges they face—including navigating the existing safety net; healthcare, childcare and elder care; and the importance of mental, physical and spiritual well-being. .

“When I learned about the Magnolia Mother’s Trust program, it felt like a lifeline during a tough time when I was recovering from multiple eye surgeries. I have a lot of eye issues and bad vision and currently need new glasses but the cost is just too high, and I’m trying really hard to protect my savings. … It’s important for me to prioritize my children’s needs over unnecessary spending on wants. I’m also figuring out other ways to save, like refinancing my vehicle with a better interest rate. I hadn’t even had a checking account in years until the MMT program.”

The Future of Judicial Reform 

Come Jan. 3, 2025, both the Senate and the House will be in Republican hands. A few weeks later, on Jan. 20, Donald Trump will return to the White House. With a slim Democratic majority in the Senate and a Republican House, the likelihood Democrats could make headway on judicial ethics over the last four years was never high. It’s now nil. The need for reform, however, is greater than ever—as is public support for it.

Power will shift in January, but conversation about the necessity of and path to judicial reform as a way of laying the legislative groundwork must continue.

Through the Jailhouse Lawyer Initiative, Jhody Polk Is Building Legal Empowerment from the Inside Out

Jhody Polk was arrested, convicted and jailed in 2007. She served the majority of the seven-year sentence at Gadsden Correctional Facility in Quincy, Fla., where she met a group of women called Law Clerks who had been trained to help others: doing legal research, filing appeals and applications in addition to assisting other incarcerated women with the paperwork needed to request a pardon, early release or lodge a complaint about dangerous conditions or abuse by correction officers or others.

Although all of the Clerks at Gadsden were serving life sentences and she was not, Polk says that the prison’s librarian—a civilian employee—encouraged her to join their ranks. She did, studying to become a “jailhouse lawyer,” a shift she considers life-changing. 

The Digital War on Women: Sexualized Deepfakes, Weaponized Data and Stalkerware That Monitors Victims Online

The 2024 U.S. election is over, but the online abuse of women in politics is set to intensify.

Around the world, a growing number of female candidates have been targeted by manipulated explicit content; and while the harm escalates fast, legal recourse is lengthy. Moreover, nearly any system that collects and shares location data can now be weaponized against its users. Digital surveillance can have a devastating impact on women, especially given the lack of robust legal or social protections against gender-based violence. 

Beverly Hills Blocks All-Trimester Abortion Clinic

In a stark reminder that threats to abortion access lurk even in progressive strongholds, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has taken unprecedented legal action against Beverly Hills for systematically obstructing the opening of an abortion clinic. This battle in one of America’s wealthiest cities highlights how the war on reproductive rights extends far beyond red state borders.

Is Adoption Reform a Missing Element in the Fight for Reproductive Justice?

Fresh out of college, with no support from my baby’s father and still relying on my parents, I was thrust into a world of limited options and impossible choices. Little did I know that choosing what society labels “the loving option” would expose me to an unregulated industry rife with predation. Though I have a successful open adoption and immense love for the family I chose, I was unprepared for the depth of my sorrow, shame and guilt—and I had been given no warning.

As we forge ahead in the brawl for fundamental rights, I hope the reproductive justice movement remembers to carry with it the territory of adoption reform.

Japan’s Far-Right ‘Jokes’ About Forced Hysterectomies as Trump’s Authoritarian Playbook Goes Global

As Americans grapple with the shadow of Trump’s second term, they’d do well to watch what’s happening in Japan, Hungary, Brazil and beyond. When satire is weaponized as a tool for authoritarianism, it’s not just rhetoric—it’s strategy.

Japan’s Conservative Party leader Naoki Hyakuta sparked outrage on a Nov. 11 YouTube broadcast with “solutions” to Japan’s declining birthrate that sound more like a dystopian nightmare than public policy. His proposals—banning women from university after the age of 18, legally preventing women over 25 who are single from ever marrying, and, most chillingly, surgically removing the wombs of women once they turn 30—were framed as “science fiction by a novelist” intended to “spark debate.” But in a country still grappling with gender equality, many Japanese citizens see through the thin veneer of satire. 

There’s a Growing Movement to Recognize Abortion as a Human Right. A Recent Supreme Court Case Shows How Necessary This Is.

The election of Donald Trump to a second term has abortion rights advocates across the country worried about a renewed assault on abortion access. These fears are well-founded, but they must also account for successful ballot measures and other victories that demonstrate sustainable, popular support for abortion rights expansion. This enthusiasm for progress is perhaps best encapsulated by the movement to recognize abortion as a human right.

In October, members of Congress introduced a resolution that commended state and local governments for “championing reproductive rights as human rights.” These efforts represent a growing movement that rejects past compromises on abortion rights and sees human rights recognition as the only path forward for safe and accessible abortion care in the United States. Given the Supreme Court’s recent failure to rule definitively on the right to abortion during life-threatening health emergencies, this movement couldn’t come at a more critical moment.