War on Women

The "War on Women" describes the legislative and rhetorical attacks on women and women’s rights taking place across the nation. In includes a wide-range of policy efforts designed to place restrictions on women's health care and erode protections for women and their families. Examples at the state and federal level have included restricting contraception; cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood; state-mandated, medically unnecessary ultrasounds; abortion taxes; abortion waiting periods; forcing women to tell their employers why they want birth control, and prohibiting insurance companies from including abortion coverage in their policies.

09/08/2011
Alaska

Young Women Seeking Abortion Care Get the Cold Shoulder in Alaska

By Andrew Beck, Reproductive Freedom Project at 2:02pm

For decades, teens in Alaska had been able to obtain abortions without the state ordering the involvement of their parents. In 1997, however, the Alaska legislature passed a law preventing young women from obtaining abortions without parental consent. The ACLU, together with Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights, sued the state, and in 2007, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that the law violated the Alaska Constitution.

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09/07/2011
Voter ID

Core Civil Liberties Threatened in State Legislatures: Three Trends to Watch

By Nicole Kief, ACLU & Nicole Kief, Elissa Berger & Vivek Malhotra, ACLU at 3:32pm

State legislatures are ground zero in the fight for civil liberties. Although they may not attract as much attention as debates in Congress or arguments in the Supreme Court, they are the source of unprecedented assaults on our most fundamental rights.

Three troubling trends of the 2011 state legislative session were:

  1. restrictions on accessing abortion;
  2. racial profiling bills targeting Latinos and immigrants; and
  3. measures suppressing the right to vote.

Did your state see a battle on one of these issues? Check out this map to learn more.

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04/17/2013
Abortion Legislation

Bringing Down Arkansas' House of Cards

By Becca Cadoff, Reproductive Freedom Project at 4:44pm

Yesterday, we filed a lawsuit in Arkansas to challenge what was, for a short time, the most extreme abortion ban in the nation. Don't be mistaken though, the Arkansas law is still outrageous - banning most abortions just a few weeks after a woman finds out she is pregnant. By passing this law, politicians are preventing a woman and her family from being able to make the most personal decision they might ever make.

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02/28/2013
Abortion Legislation

Some Arkansas Legislators Do the Time Warp; Pass Most Extreme Abortion Bill In The Nation

By Hayley Smith, Advocacy and Policy Associate, ACLU at 4:52pm

This morning I sat at my desk in disbelief, as I heard the news that the Arkansas legislature passed two abortion bans today...

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02/08/2013
Abortion Legislation

2013 Has Just Started and We’re In For A Bumpy Ride

By Elissa Berger, Advocacy and Policy Counsel, ACLU at 4:08pm

Think the war on women is over? Think again.

Some politicians have decided to start the 2013 state legislative session by targeting women's reproductive health.

Yesterday in North Dakota, state senators voted on a measure that could be used to ban abortion, restrict treatment for infertility, and threaten access to contraception. If politicians in North Dakota get their way, women would be prevented from seeking abortion and other reproductive health care in the state.

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01/22/2013
Abortion Legislation

Forty Years After Roe, the American People Have Spoken. Will Politicians Finally Listen?

By Jennifer Dalven, Reproductive Freedom Project at 11:12am

Forty years ago today, the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that recognized that a pregnant woman...

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11/10/2012
Abortion Legislation

State Legislators Double Down on Most Restrictive Abortion Law in Nation

By Mike Brickner, ACLU of Ohio at 5:56pm

Yesterday, retiring Ohio GOP Congressman Steve LaTourette made national headlines while discussing the recent presidential election. He said:

My wife’s a Democrat, and she was so close to voting for Mitt Romney. But then, you know, Mourdock and Akin opened their mouth, and we sent [voters] running back to the Democratic Party, because they think we’re nutty […] We have to get out of people’s lives, get out of people’s bedrooms, and we have to be a national party…or else we’re going to lose.

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06/14/2012
War on Women

Whose house? Our house! Whose vagina? Not yours, Mr. Speaker.

By Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project at 4:56pm

Apparently, things are getting a little heated out there in Lansing. Yesterday, despite massive public opposition, the Michigan House of Representatives passed an omnibus abortion bill (which we told you about here ) that could, among other things, shut down clinics that provide safe, legal abortions and end medication abortions throughout the state. Decorum was shattered. Gavels were struck. But not because lawmakers passed an extreme and dangerous law; a law that so clearly threatens the health and lives of all Michigan women. No, because Rep. Lisa Brown – that saucy minx – talked about her hoo-hah. Testifying against the bill, she told the Speaker "I’m flattered you’re all so interested in my vagina, but no means no."  Today, she and Rep. Barb Byrum (who reportedly shouted the word “vasectomy” out of turn) have been banned from speaking on the floor of the House.

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05/13/2012
Pregnancy Discrimination

Respecting Moms on Mother's Day

By Tiseme Zegeye, ACLU Women's Rights Project at 10:27am

This Mother's Day, we need to work towards a country where women's work is truly respected and valued both inside and outside of the home.

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05/03/2012
Abortion Legislation

Hello, Alabama? Can You Hear Us Now?

By Elissa Berger, Advocacy and Policy Counsel, ACLU at 1:58pm

On the front lines of the war on women, the people of Alabama have a battle cry: Enough is Enough.

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