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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Abortion and Trans Rights Advocates Turn to Unlikely Tool in State Constitutions
Lawsuits seeking to expand access to abortion and gender-affirming care rely on GOP-backed “health-care freedom" provisions passed to limit the Affordable Care Act.
Wyoming Supreme Court Set to Decide Whether Abortion Is Health Care
A lower court ruled Wyoming’s abortion ban violated a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to make one’s own health care decisions.
The Florida Constitution: For the People?
Citizen support for constitutional amendments has been undermined by the legislature’s interpretation of those initiatives.
Book Excerpt: Personhood: The New Civil War over Reproduction, by Mary Ziegler
The fetal personhood movement already succeeded in eliminating what many viewed as a fundamental right. Its continued effects could be even further-reaching.
Lawsuits Allege Unlawful Surveillance of Pregnant Patients
According to the allegations, hospitals and state agencies in New Jersey and Vermont violated rights to privacy and bodily autonomy by drug testing and monitoring pregnant people.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Spells a Win for Abortion Rights
The new justice, who previously represented Planned Parenthood, joins the bench as the court is set to decide two major abortion cases.
An Ohio Court Strikes Down Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors
Citing the state’s health care freedom amendment, the court ruled that Ohio’s restrictions on transgender youth care violate the state constitution.
Sanctuary Policies in a Federal System
States and localities that restrict federal enforcement of immigration and gun laws promote diversity and help protect against authoritarianism.