What the ACLU is doing and what's ahead.

ACLU Supporter –

We know it's an urgent time when it comes to reproductive freedom in America.

The Supreme Court has chosen to hear a case this fall that could overturn Roe v. Wade – while states continue to push abortion access further and further out of reach.

As distressing as it is, the ACLU was built for moments like these. Our dedicated team of attorneys and advocates are on the frontlines as I write this and it's your activism that fuels the work. That's why I wanted to share this longer-than-usual update – to help you prepare for everything we're fighting for up ahead:

In the states: The wave of anti-abortion bills in the states this year is a coordinated plan by politicians to eliminate access state-by-state, a strategy that will disproportionately harm Black and Brown communities and low-income people due to structural racism and inequities. But with our nationwide affiliate presence, we're filing both quick, defensive lawsuits against these laws – and strategic, affirmative lawsuits to expand access.

* Just this week, for example, we filed a lawsuit challenging Arizona's abortion ban <[link removed]> that would charge doctors with new felony crimes for providing abortion care when it seems a patient's decision might be based on a fetal genetic condition. The lawsuit also challenges a “personhood requirement” that would classify fetuses, embryos, and fertilized eggs as people starting at the point of conception by state law. But the government doesn't have the power to make reproductive decisions for us and that's why we're asking the court to block the restrictions immediately.

* In Texas, the ACLU and partners have filed a federal lawsuit <[link removed]> challenging the state's unconstitutional 6-week abortion ban, which authorizes any person to sue another for helping someone get an abortion for a minimum of $10,000. If not blocked, this law will go into effect September 1. Considering a federal appeals court just upheld a Texas law that bans an incredibly common abortion procedure – the fight to block this 6-week ban in court is all the more crucial.

* In Guam, we're going back to court to protect abortion access across the island after a partial victory in March. <[link removed]> And we also just blocked a near-total ban on abortion in Arkansas as well. <[link removed]> In addition, our ongoing litigation is currently blocking similar bans in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee.

At the Supreme Court: We're all bracing for the next Supreme Court term this October. The ACLU specifically is dedicated to both its own legal efforts – as well as our support as an advocacy partner – for two cases in particular.

* In EMW Women's Surgical Center, P.S.C. v. Meier <[link removed]> – ACLU's case challenging a state law that would prevent many people from getting abortion care they need – the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether Kentucky's attorney general can intervene at the last minute to try to put a law that two courts already declared unconstitutional into effect. Every court to consider a law like Kentucky's has blocked it and we will continue to work to make sure this ban never takes effect.

* Finally, the case the nation is watching – and what anti-abortion politicians have been waiting for since Roe v. Wade was decided: Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. <[link removed]> In this case, the Center for Reproductive Rights and the only clinic in Mississippi, are challenging Mississippi's ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy. The state of Mississippi has asked the court to overrule Roe outright and to hold that there is no constitutional right to abortion at all.

ACLU Supporter, we know how overwhelming all this news can be. But ACLU litigation has so far kept clinics open and ensured services were accessible to thousands of people.

So make no mistake when we say we're not letting up. Abortion is still legal everywhere in America, ACLU Supporter, and we'll fight against anyone who tries to take that right away.

The team and I will continue to update you on the landscape of abortion rights in the months ahead – and thanks as always for being with us in this crucial fight.

Until we win,

Jennifer Dalven
Pronouns: She, her, hers
Director of the Reproductive Freedom Project, ACLU

P.S. If you're wondering what you can do right now to help protect abortion access, take immediate action to support the Women's Health Protection Act. <[link removed]> This important congressional bill will provide a nationwide safeguard against abortion bans and medically unnecessary restrictions – and its passage will be absolutely crucial in our fight.

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