As a second Trump administration approaches, we’re running out of time to confirm as many federal judges as possible to provide a check on his presidential power and curb his stated policy priorities.
There are 42 federal judicial vacancies and 13 nominations before the Senate right now—as our civil rights hang in the balance, take action now!
Winter is here. And with winter comes the start of state legislative sessions. Just as the White Walkers attempt to bring doom and destruction to the Seven Kingdoms, some state politicians are attempting to destroy a woman’s legal right to abortion. Already, fewer than ten days into the new sessions, states are introducing bills that restrict access to abortion. Kentucky has distinguished itself by fast-tracking bills that unconstitutionally interfere with a woman’s ability to access abortion. The governor on Monday signed bills passed just last week by the legislature that force women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound even if the woman objects and her doctor thinks it is medically unnecessary and prevent women from obtaining an abortion after a certain point in pregnancy.
The Kentucky restrictions were hurriedly passed with little opportunity to stop them from being signed. But just as Jon Snow and Daenerys (because let’s be honest, she will eventually be in this fight) are ready to take on the White Walkers, advocates across the country are ready to take on the onslaught of state abortion restrictions. In Kentucky, the ACLU acted swiftly by immediately suing to stop the ultrasound provision, which is nearly identical to a North Carolina law that was unanimously stuck down by a federal appeals court in 2014.
And now we have a new tool to use in the fights ahead: the Supreme Court decision from last summer, which overturned Texas’ anti-abortion law, putting states on notice that they won’t get away with sham laws whose only purpose is to restrict access to abortion.
Plus, we’re not just playing defense. In 2016, at least 28 proactive laws were enacted in the states to expand access to reproductive health care. The push for proactive measures is growing and there will be more to come in 2017.
But we need you to join the fight—if politicians in your state are introducing and passing restrictions that harm women’s right to abortion, speak up against them. We can stop them. And we are ready.
