By Andrew Beck, Reproductive Freedom Project at 1:37pm
Today, the ACLU and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit in South Dakota challenging one of the most restrictive—and downright offensive—abortion laws we've ever seen. We've blogged about this law before.
In the past four years, more than 20 women in Alabama have been prosecuted for no other reason than that they tried to continue their pregnancies while struggling with addiction. Today, the ACLU and the ACLU of Alabama submitted a friend-of-the-court brief to the Alabama Criminal Court of Appeals, urging that court to reverse the conviction of one of these women, Amanda Kimbrough.
Yesterday, the Department of Defense (DOD) quietly made public its decision to require that emergency contraception (EC or Plan B) be available at all overseas military facilities. (Until it was picked up by the press, only the most avid readers of the minutes of the quarterly meetings of the DOD Pharmaceutics and Therapeutics Committee could have known about the decision).
On this International Women's Day, March 8, we call on the United States government to apply the same human rights principles it preaches for women elsewhere around the world, to women here at home. We are currently in the middle of the two-week United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). This year's 57th CSW focuses on elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls. On Tuesday, the ACLU was invited to take part in an interactive discussion with a panel of world experts. The United States participated in the discussion as well.
Imagine being denied emergency contraception after a sexual assault; to not even be informed about the steps you can take to prevent an unwanted pregnancy; and to later find yourself pregnant as a result of the rape.
For thousands of Native American women this is reality.
That is why the ACLU and NACB have filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with Indian Health Services (IHS) seeking information on policies governing access to over-the-counter emergency contraception (sometimes known as “Plan B”) at IHS facilities and demanding to know what steps the government is taking to solve this problem.
By Sandhya Bathija, Washington Legislative Office at 12:21pm
Today, the Department of Education will release crucial civil rights data exposing discipline practices in our country's public schools and certain juvenile justice facilities.
In a story published this morning, The New York Times provided a glimpse into this data, which shows that African-American students face harsher discipline measures than other groups. Overall, African-American students were 3 1/2 times as likely to be suspended or expelled than their white peers, the Times revealed. And research suggests African-American students are often punished more severely for the same infractions.
Ohio lawmakers are poised this week to pass the most restrictive law in the nation preventing families from making important health decisions on pregnancy. House Bill 125 would prohibit abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected — as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. That means even before a woman may know she is pregnant, she and her family will not have a full range of medical options available to them.
This week, the U.S. Conference on Catholic Bishops is holding its annual meeting in Baltimore. The bishops are the lobbying arm of the Catholic church, and they hold substantial sway over lawmakers. But instead of focusing on issues like poverty or the economy, the bishops are instead complaining loudly that recent laws broadening women’s access to contraception and granting same-sex couples the freedom to marry amount to an assault on their religion.
Last week, the Institute of Medicine, an independent medical authority, recommended that birth control – more specifically, the full range of FDA approved contraceptives – be among the services covered by new insurance plans under the national health care reform law. If the recommendation is endorsed, birth control would be covered in all new plans without a co-pay, as would yearly preventative, primary care visits for women. It’s about time.
In the past four years, more than 20 women in Alabama have been prosecuted for no other reason than that they tried to continue their pregnancies while struggling with addiction. Today, the ACLU and the ACLU of Alabama submitted a 
