Reproductive Rights
In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, ruling that the U.S. Constitution does not protect a fundamental right to abortion. Following this decision, many state trigger laws banning or restricting abortion went into effect, and several states have passed new abortion bans or restrictions.
Litigants are challenging many of these measures in state courts, pointing to rights to privacy, liberty, gender equality, equal protection, due process, and religious freedom in their state constitutions and other state laws. There are also active state constitutional amendment campaigns in several states. This litigation extends beyond abortion to fertility treatments, contraception, and other issues.
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How Far Does the Kansas Constitution Go in Protecting Bodily Autonomy and Dignity?
Two recent transgender rights cases may help answer this question.
Religious Freedom Claims Could Provide New Path to Protect Abortion Rights
Challenges to abortion bans by religious plaintiffs have had mixed results.
A Conversation with Professor Robert Williams About the Abortion Case He Lost Four Decades Ago
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court case, which was overturned in 2024, unanimously upheld the state’s ban on funding abortion through state Medicaid.
Anti-Choice States Target Organizations Providing Information About Abortion
Attorneys general in Florida, Missouri, and South Dakota sued pro-choice organizations under state consumer deception and RICO laws.
The Nebraska Constitution: Creator of the Country’s Only Unicameral Legislature
The powers of initiative and referendum make the people the “second house.”
Pennsylvania Court Finds Reproductive Autonomy Is a Fundamental Right
The lower court ruling came more than two years after the state high court allowed a challenge to a ban on Medicaid-funded abortion to proceed.
State Courts Offer Protection Against Pregnancy Discrimination
Courts in almost two dozen states have rejected the U.S. Supreme Court’s reasoning that discrimination based on pregnancy is not sex discrimination.
Kentucky’s Constitution: From Open Frontier to Fiercely Independent
The state constitution’s strong separation of powers language was written by Thomas Jefferson; he wished the U.S. Constitution had the same.