Courts and Judges

How Abortion Protects Us From the Choices We Can’t Make

I was thrilled to hear DNC speakers say the word “abortion,” speaking up on behalf of reproductive freedom. But I tensed up whenever someone spoke in terms of protecting women’s “decisions” about pregnancy.

There is a lot about pregnancy that happens in the absence of any decision at all, or in spite of the decisions people make—like an ectopic pregnancy, or a spontaneous miscarriage, or pregnancy as a result of sexual abuse. That’s why we must ensure that the law, something we can control, does not cruelly add to families’ experiences of powerlessness, pain and loss.

Unregulated Pregnancy Clinics Collect Health Information From Pregnant People—With No Privacy Protection

This summer, the antiabortion movement is mounting an offensive against bipartisan bills to establish federal data privacy protections for Americans and long-overdue online protections for children.

While many unregulated pregnancy clinics, or crisis pregnancy centers, claim HIPAA compliance, they operate under no legal requirement to protect client confidentiality. Thus, they are free to share sensitive information they are collecting from pregnant people as they wish.

“No one should have to worry about their personal health information falling into the hands of anyone who might seek to use that information against them.”

Two More Texas Women Say Delayed Care Due to Abortion Laws Endangered Their Fertility

Two women have filed federal complaints against Texas hospitals they say refused to treat their ectopic pregnancies, leading both women to lose their fallopian tubes and endanger their future fertility.

Texas law allows doctors to terminate ectopic pregnancies, a condition in which the fertilized egg implants in the fallopian tubes, instead of the uterus. Ectopic pregnancies are always non-viable and can quickly become life-threatening if left untreated. Despite these protections, these women say they were turned away from two separate hospitals that refused to treat them. The complaint alleges that the doctors and hospitals are so fearful of the state’s abortion laws, which carry penalties of up to life in prison when violated, that they are hesitating to perform even protected abortions.

“Texas officials have put doctors in an impossible situation. It is clear that these exceptions are a farce, and that these laws are putting countless lives in jeopardy.”

Reforming the Supreme Court Should Be Commonplace

The Biden-Harris administration’s proposed Supreme Court reforms are an opportunity to move forward discussions on how to check the third branch of government.

The courts had long served as a pillar of our democracy until conservative forces waged a decades-long campaign to twist the judiciary to its antidemocratic liking. The need for reform is clear—and something that voters across the political spectrum want.

LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto on Fighting Child Sex Trafficking—Because Kids’ Rights Are Not for Sale

LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto—the first female city attorney in the city’s history and the first Latina elected citywide—has made fighting child sex trafficking a priority since her election in November 2022.

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, today Feldstein Soto leads a team of 1,000 legal professionals. She was driven to tackle this issue after witnessing the extent of the problem firsthand during a ride-along on South Figueroa Street. Ms.spoke with her on her multifaceted approach includes rescuing minors, prosecuting predators, and disrupting the demand for trafficked children.

War on Women Report: As Iowa’s Six-Week Ban Takes Effect, a Trump-Vance Ticket Poses Further Threat to Abortion Rights; ‘Where Is the Humanity’ for Sonya Massey?

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U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report: RFK’s historic mistreatment of women; the Trump-Vance ticket comes into focus; Biden passes the torch to Kamala Harris; rest in power, Sonya Massey; Iowa becomes the 17th state with an extreme abortion ban; and more.

Biden’s Pitch to America: Reform the Supreme Court and ‘Strengthen the Guardrails of Democracy’

At the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, on Monday, Biden made an emotional pitch for his new plan for Supreme Court reform, which would implement three changes to “strengthen the guardrails of democracy”: a constitutional amendment stripping the president of immunity for crimes committed while in office; an 18-year term limit for justices; and a binding code of conduct for the Court.

“The courts determine the scale and scope of our laws. … In recent years, extreme opinions the Supreme Court has handed down have undermined long established civil rights principles and protections,” said Biden. “In two years, we will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Imagine that moment and ask yourself: What do we want to be?”

DOJ Asks Supreme Court to Allow Most of the New Sex Discrimination Rule to Go Into Effect

The Justice Department went to the U.S. Supreme Court this week in defense of the Biden administration’s new Title IX sex discrimination rule that includes transgender protections—arguing strongly that the logic of the rule is “compelled” by the Court’s ruling in Bostock.

The rule, issued under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, is set to go into effect on Aug. 1.

Supreme Court’s Blow to Federal Agencies’ Power Will Likely Weaken Abortion Rights. Here Are Three Issues to Watch.

One of the Court’s most significant decisions of 2024 was Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. In a reversal of 40 years of precedent, courts—not agencies—will have the last word on interpreting federal law.

In her Loper dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote: “In every sphere of current or future federal regulation, expect courts from now on to play a commanding role.” Kagan’s dissent raises the specter of judges across the country—not doctors or scientists or educators, nor even politicians, who at least must answer to the public—playing a “commanding role” in reproductive rights policy.