Covering the Bases: Tracking Legal Efforts for Abortion Nationwide
This page aims to track legal and policy resources related to abortion and to list the many legal research tools and abortion defense efforts happening across the U.S. today. It includes work done at the state and national levels, undertaken by NGOs, law firms, and governments. The content is meant to be an evolving collection of resources that will be updated regularly; please contact Cathren Cohen with any suggested additions or changes (cohenc@law.ucla.edu). If you or your organization is in need of legal services, please feel free to contact SoCal LARJ.
Mapping the National Legal Landscape
Center for Reproductive Rights
- After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State. An interactive map examining laws, constitutions, and court decisions on abortion.
Guttmacher Institute
- Interactive Map: US Abortion Policies and Access after Roe. Users can select a state to see abortion policies, characteristics of state residents, and key abortion statistics, such as the nearest driving distance to a clinic.
Kaiser Family Foundation
- Abortion in the United States Dashboard. Tracking abortion policies and litigation following the overturning of Roe.
Repro Organizations
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Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR)
- Litigated Dobbs and other major abortion SCOTUS cases
- Currently litigating trigger bans in in several states
- Lawyers Network and pro bono opportunities.
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- PPFA and local affiliates, action funds
- Litigate abortion bans, advise clinics on legal compliance, advocate for proposed state laws
Related:
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ACLU (National and Local)
- National Reproductive Freedom Project litigated Griswold and Casey, national currently litigating trigger bans in several states.
- ACLU in California: NorCal, SoCal, San Diego & Imperial Counties, and ACLU California Action (statewide)
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- Located in DC, CA, and NC. Reproductive & Sexual Health team engages in policy analysis and advocacy to advance access to the full range of repro services, particularly for low-income/Medicaid.
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- Repro Legal Helpline: free, confidential legal info/advice in all 50 states, including self-managed abortion (SMA), judicial bypass, referrals to local resources and attorneys
- Repro Legal Defense Fund: bail and legal defense fund for pregnancy criminalization including helpers
- Litigation: criminal defense for SMA or helpers, including impact lit, amicus briefs, trainings for attorneys
- Technical assistance, legal research, reporting
- RJ Lawyers Network: national group of lawyers, workshops, continuing ed
Related:
- If/When/How report: Self-Care, Criminalized: August 2022 Preliminary Findings
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Resources for Abortion Delivery (RAD)
Legal team: Regulatory Assistance for Abortion Providers (RAAP)- Grants, loans, technical support for abortion providers
- RAAP legal program provides regulatory compliance and other laws impacting service delivery for independent and Planned Parenthood providers
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- Pro bono criminal defense of clients charged with pregnancy-related crimes, 24-hour intake
- Amici, model briefs, legal research, pro bono experts, policy advocacy
- The Rise of Pregnancy Criminalization: A Pregnancy Justice Report
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- Litigate challenges to abortion restrictions, representing providers, abortion funds, and support networks, sometimes patients
- Access and innovation program: free advice to providers, funds, researchers, and supporters about regulations, providing care, and telemedicine
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- Pro bono legal advice for repro orgs on federal tax law, federal/state lobbying, campaign finance. Aims to empower and protect repro orgs doing legal/policy advocacy.
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California Future of Abortion Council
- 40+ repro freedom and sexual and repro health organizations came together to develop policy recommendations for post-Dobbs
- CA FAB Council Report provides recommendations to protect and expand access to care, strengthen legal protections for abortion rights.
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Los Angeles Coalition for Reproductive Justice
- 20+ social justice and health organizations collaborating to enhance repro health, rights, and justice in LA.
- Seeking Reproductive Justice in LA County Report (March 2020)
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California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom
- Statewide coalition of 40+ orgs promoting sexual and repro health, rights, and justice through strategic communication, collaboration, and collective policy advocacy.
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- Coalition connecting legal, health, and allied communities to protect and advance access to safe legal abortion care, bridging the gap between abortion law, policy, research, and service provision.
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California Women’s Law Center (CWLC)
- Submitted amicus briefs in SCOTUS abortion cases
- Crisis pregnancy center report “Designed to Deceive”
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- Based in Pennsylvania, WLP represents minors in judicial bypass hearings and provides legal counsel to providers.
- Have represented plaintiffs in Supreme Court cases and submitted amicus briefs
Patient-Focused Abortion Finders
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- Features the most comprehensive directory of trusted (and verified) abortion service providers and assistance resources in the United States.
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- A simple, up-to-date, and localized source of information for people seeking abortions.
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- Provides up-to-date information on how people in the U.S. are accessing at-home abortion pill options online.
Local, State, and Regional Pro Bono Partnerships
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Southern California Legal Alliance for Reproductive Justice (SoCal LARJ)
- Modeled on similar coalitions in New York, San Francisco, and elsewhere.
- Aims to bring together the legal profession in Southern California to provide pro bono representation concerning abortion and other reproductive rights and justice issues.
- More than 45 local and national firms have joined
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SF: Legal Alliance for Reproductive Rights (LARR)
- Bar Association of San Francisco & SF City Attorney
- 69 firms on email list, inquiries from providers/patients circulated to all firms or large firms only (out-of-state inquiries)
- Development of CA legislative “fixes” need to protect or expand abortion rights
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Delaware: AG’s Abortion Legal Helpline
- Nearly a dozen law firms participating
- ACLU-D, First State Abortion Fund, DE NOW, and others
- Patients, providers, supporters; legal advice, know your rights, referrals
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New York State Attorney General’s Pro Bono Task Force
- Paul Weiss does intake & admin, more than 40 firms
- Firms complete questionnaire on expertise/capacity
- Repro groups: CRR (leadership), If/When/How, NAPW, NIRH, NYCLU
- Legal advice, defense, and affirmative litigation.
- 24-hour hotline, brief bank, attorney trainings
- FAQs covering more straightforward legal questions
- Active subcommittees on: direct legal services, best practices for employers, outreach & training, infrastructure
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Massachusetts Abortion Legal Hotline
- Partnership of Women’s Bar Foundation, Massachusetts AG, ACLU of Massachusetts and five law firms.
- Free legal advice for providers, patients, and helpers
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Oregon Reproductive Rights Hotline
- Partnership of local law firms and the Oregon Attorney General.
- Provides free legal advice on Oregon’s reproductive health law including issues related to abortion access.
National Efforts
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- Collaborative effort by nonprofit organization, private law firms, and government officials, managed by the Lawyering Project
- Connects abortion providers and supports with values-aligned attorneys and legal defense funds.
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National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
- Criminalization of pregnancy resource hub for defense attorney
- State-by-state summary of abortion laws, trigger bans, pre-Roe statutes, and fetal personhood laws
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Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) Repro Health Legal Assistance Project
- Attorneys and law students, guidance to providers, developing up-to-date database of legal landscape
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Association of Pro Bono Counsel (APBCO)
- Network of pro bono professionals at 130 global law firms with reproductive rights task force
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National Women’s Law Center (NWLC)
- Coordinating Texas-licensed litigators to defend SB8 lawsuits
Federal Action
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Executive Orders
- EOs in July and August 2022 on protecting access to repro healthcare
- Protect medication abortion, access to contraception (ACA), consumer protection, convene volunteer lawyers (including on right to travel)
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Department of Health and Human Services
- New HIPAA guidance, new data privacy guide
- In January 2022, announced Reproductive Healthcare Access Task Force to coordinate activities across HHS to protect and bolster repro health & rights
- Includes eliminating policy barriers, data collection, eliminating health disparities, partnerships, and destigmatizing repro health care.
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ReproductiveRights.gov
- Offers “know your rights” on abortion, emergency care, etc., and how to file patient privacy or nondiscrimination complaint with Office of Civil Rights
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Department of Justice and White House Volunteer Lawyers Convening
- July 29 convening of more than 200 lawyers, advocates, firms, bar associations, legal aid, repro groups, and law schools.
- Call to action for firms to commit minima um of 500 hours to defending reproductive rights.
- July 29 convening of more than 200 lawyers, advocates, firms, bar associations, legal aid, repro groups, and law schools.
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Department of Justice Reproductive Rights Task Force
- Formalization of existing work group identifying ways to protect access to repro health care.
- Monitor and evaluate state and local legislation and enforcement actions which will infringe on federal protections, repro health care access, impair informed consent, ban medication abortion, and impose criminal or civil liability.
Related:
