Aug 11, 2023
Rick Hasen talks to Time about Ohio's abortion-related ballot initiative
Jul 27, 2023
Sapna Khatri speaks with Time about an increased focus on abortion 'accomplices' in post-Roe legal actions

On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court released its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The decision ruled that the federal Constitution does not contain a right to abortion. As a result of the Dobbs decision, abortion is now illegal or severely restricted in many states.  

Organizational Statements

Click here to go to a larger version of the spreadsheet.

This database is limited to standalone statements from organizations and does not encompass broader opposition expressed through legislative or regulatory actions. Statements date from the Dobbs decision to summer 2024. 

Joint Statements

In order to submit additional statements for inclusion on this page or to express your organization or business’s interest in making a statement, please email CRHLP@law.ucla.edu. A model statement that can be modified for this purpose is linked here.

US Supreme Court building

As the Supreme Court’s most recent term has now ended, observers are left to consider the many historic decisions that will have a lasting impact for years to come.

In a June 30 webinar titled “From the Frontlines: The Supreme Court Rulings on Affirmative Action, LGBTQ Rights, and Student Debt,” public writings and even social media videos, UCLA School of Law experts have stepped in to break down some of the most pivotal decisions.

Here is what they had to say.

Affirmative action

Photo credit: Sabrina Chang
Photo credit: Sabrina Chang

On May 2, one year after the leak of a draft Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, UCLA Law’s Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy (CRHLP) hosted a press conference to announce a new legal hotline created by the Southern California Legal Alliance for Reproductive Justice (SoCal LARJ).

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).

Mapping the National Legal Landscape

Center for Reproductive Rights

Guttmacher Institute

Kaiser Family Foundation

Repro Organizations

  • 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.

  • Planned Parenthood

    • PPFA and local affiliates, action funds
    • Litigate abortion bans, advise clinics on legal compliance, advocate for proposed state laws

    Related:

  • ACLU (National and Local)

  • National Health Law Program

    • 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.

  • If/When/How

    • 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:

  • 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

  • Pregnancy Justice

  • Lawyering Project

    • 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

  • The Forefront Project

    • 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.

  • 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.

  • Los Angeles Coalition for Reproductive Justice

  • 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.

  • California Abortion Alliance

    • 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.

  • California Women’s Law Center (CWLC)

  • Women’s Law Project

    • 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

  • AbortionFinder.org

    • Features the most comprehensive directory of trusted (and verified) abortion service providers and assistance resources in the United States.

  • I Need an A

    • A simple, up-to-date, and localized source of information for people seeking abortions.

  • Plan C Pills

    • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

Federal Action

  • 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)

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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.

  • 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:

Program

Reproductive and Sexual Health Exceptionalism

Moderator: Lindsay F. Wiley, UCLA Law

Panelists:

Emerging Health Care Regulatory Issues After Dobbs

Moderator: Seema Mohapatra, SMU Dedman School of Law

Panelists:

Discrimination and Equity in Reproductive and Sexual Health

Moderator: Lindsay F. Wiley, UCLA Law

Panelists:

Patient Safety and Autonomy in Reproductive and Sexual Health

Moderator: Seema Mohapatra, SMU Dedman School of Law

Panelists:

Nov 15, 2022
Cary Franklin is Quoted in Politico on Constitutional Propositions for Abortion Rights in California
UCLA Law faculty on issues in the midterm elections

A candidate’s messaging, charisma and likability may all factor into a voter’s decision on election day. But the rubber hits the road when those candidates get sworn into office and begin to write, pass and block legislation that affects citizens’ everyday lives. Beyond the legislation that elected officials may pass, other issues loom large in the midterms, including election integrity and the evolving role of social media.

Here, UCLA School of Law’s faculty experts share what they’re paying attention to.

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