It was a classic bait and switch: agree to abide by the Constitution in one respect and then create a new constitutional violation. That is what recently happened in our case involving inmates’ access to abortion care in Maricopa County, home of "America’s Toughest Sheriff," Joseph Arapio. Five years ago, we brought suit against Arapio challenging his policy of requiring inmates to obtain a court order as a condition of being transported for abortion care. We won at every stage of the case: in the trial court, in the state court of appeals, and then the Arizona and U.S. Supreme Courts refused to hear the case, leaving our victories intact.

But apparently, America’s Toughest Sheriff also believes he’s above the law, because Arpaio continued to demand a court order from inmates seeking abortion care, in violation of the court rulings. We asked the court to hold Arpaio in contempt for blatantly violating the courts’ orders. Shortly thereafter, we began to try to find a settlement. Though Arpaio agreed to adopt a policy ensuring access to abortion without a court order, he decided to implement a new requirement: that inmates seeking abortion care must prepay up to $600 for transportation and security costs in order to be taken offsite to see a doctor.

Imagine you are poor, in jail, pregnant, and in need of an abortion — how are you going to raise $600? Who will you tell about your pregnancy to try to get the money? What if you can’t get the money? Arpaio provides transportation at no cost to inmates for all other medical care, court visits, and even visits to dying relatives or to attend a funeral. Arpaio singles out abortion care solely because of political opposition to abortion. Though it is a political game to Arpaio, these are real women with real medical needs, and this is a game he can’t win. This new policy is just as unconstitutional as the last one, and we filed our brief yesterday asking the court to prevent Arpaio from demanding upfront payment from inmates who seek abortion care.

Specifically, when can someone else, who sues your doctor, obtain your records? According to the decision the Ohio Supreme Court issued today (PDF) in Roe v. Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region only under specific and limited circumstances. In this case, John and June Roe claimed that a Planned Parenthood clinic had improperly provided their teenage daughter with an abortion. With the financial support of the Life Legal Defense Foundation, their lawyers filed the suit, and then, in a court process called "discovery," demanded that Planned Parenthood turn over the medical records of all the minor patients the clinic had seen over a 10-year period. The Roes were willing, however, to receive the records with personally identifying information "redacted" — essentially blacked out with a Sharpie.

The ACLU became involved to help stop this potential invasion of medical privacy. When the Roes’ attempt to obtain the private medical records reached the Ohio Supreme Court, we filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians; the Society for Adolescent Medicine; the National Association of Social Workers; the National Center for Youth Law; the Center for Adolescent Health & the Law; the Ohio NOW Education and Legal Fund; the Ohio Domestic Violence Network; ACTION OHIO Coalition for Battered Women; Break the Cycle; and Women Empowered Against Violence, Inc. As our brief explained, these organizations entered the case to protect the minors whose records were at stake in the case, who were never asked for and never gave their permission for anyone to see their medical records, and who therefore had no opportunity to object to this violation of their privacy.

Our brief argued that disclosure of the records — even in redacted form — would undermine minors’ confidence that their reproductive medical information would be kept private, and thereby drive them away from seeking this critical care.

In today’s ruling (PDF), the court made the important point that the records would not lose their privileged (private) status simply by being redacted.

Those who seek to harass and deter providers of abortion care will not stop, but today’s ruling is a victory for the medical privacy and medical wellbeing of minors in Ohio.

I’m going to do things a little backwards here… Ordinarily, I would give you what is called a time served sentence, and…your time in prison would effectively end today….[However] I’m inclined to keep you in jail, given your medical condition and the medical condition for your child, to prevent your child from being born HIV positive. And my inclination is to sentence you until September 15, which is a time after your due date, so that you can continue to receive the necessary medicine up to the time of your delivery.

— The Honorable John A. Woodcock, Jr., District Court of Maine, May 14, 2009

And with that, a federal district court in Maine sentenced Q.T. to jail for no other reason than that she was pregnant and HIV-positive. Never mind that, as the court was aware, Q.T. had secured access to the care she needed at a nearby community center that provides HIV and AIDS services; never mind that she was entitled to immediate release under the sentencing guidelines; and never mind that the government — the prosecutors who had charged Q.T. in the first place — objected to increasing Q.T.’s sentence beyond time served.

These facts did not deter Judge Woodcock. Over the objections of both the defense and the prosecution, he sentenced Q.T. to an additional four months in jail followed by two years of supervised release. Despite the judge’s insistence that his harsh sentence was "not in any way to punish her; it’s the opposite," essentially the court punished Q.T. for being pregnant and HIV-positive.

When advocates, including the ACLU and the Maine Civil Liberties Union (MCLU), got wind of the situation, we stepped in on behalf of Q.T. We are pleased to report that on June 15, a broad-based coalition, including National Advocates for Pregnant Women, the Center for HIV Law and Policy, and Project Unshackled of the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project, helped secure Q.T. release from jail on bail while she appeals her sentence. But the fight is not over, the ACLU and MCLU are currently working to reverse the sentence entirely and ensure that Q.T. cannot be returned to jail simply because she is pregnant and living with HIV. We will keep you updated as the case moves forward.

— Zach Heiden, Maine Civil Liberties Union,
Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project,
Rose Saxe, ACLU AIDS Project

As a former Planned Parenthood employee, you can count me among the multitude of people who have friends who provide abortions. If I am to be honest, I must admit, since the murder of Dr. Tiller, many of us who advocate for reproductive freedom have been scared for our friends, family, and colleagues. Indeed, in the first days after Dr. Tiller’s death, we had decided to forgo hosting a public vigil. Then on later reflection, we decided the only way to truly honor Dr. Tiller was to come together and proclaim to the world, “We will not cower.” We must stand together in the face of violence.

One of several individuals who spoke to honor and remember Dr. Tiller, Carla Wallace spoke of her times marching for LGBT rights in the midst of death threats. Years later, she and others peacefully protested the presence of the Klu Klux Klan. Through her stories, she reminded us all that violence and terrorism will only triumph if we allow it to silence us.

Dr. Tiller refused to be silenced or stopped by violence. The day after he was shot in 1993, he walked into his clinic and continued his work. We must do the same. We must honor Dr. Tiller, his family, and the women he helped through his decades of service by speaking out and saying, “I will not be afraid.”

On Sunday, May 31, Dr. George Tiller, a doctor in Wichita, Kansas, who for decades provided abortions for women even in the face of harassment and violence, was murdered at his place of worship. Sondra Goldschein and Allie Bohm attended events in New York City and Washington, D.C., honoring Dr. Tiller’s life.

Sondra Goldschein writes:

When I heard about the murder of Dr. Tiller on Sunday evening, I went from shock to tears to fear to loss. I could feel those emotions but I couldn’t put into words what a tragedy his death is. I finally found the words from Dr. Tiller himself.

I attended one of at least forty events across the country honoring Dr. Tiller’s life on Monday night. I was one of a large group of people in downtown Manhattan who heard a story about Dr. Tiller that cut to the core of who this remarkable man was. The story was told by New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

As many of us have now heard, Dr. Tiller was shot in both arms in 1993. What we haven’t heard as much is that he came back to work the very next day. Why? When he needed medical attention, he had received it. His patients needed his care and he was going to be there. “There was never any question in my mind that I was going back to work the next day.”

Dr. George Tiller truly understood that a woman facing an unintended pregnancy should have the opportunity to make the best decision for herself and her family, whether her decision is raising a child, adoption, or abortion. He respected women and their decisions, and with his wonderful staff, was there to help women from all over the country. According to Dr. Tiller, “abortion is about women’s hopes, dreams, potential, the rest of their lives. Abortion is a matter of survival for women. . . . It is my fundamental philosophy that patients are emotionally, mentally, morally, spiritually and physically competent to struggle with complex health issues and come to decisions that are appropriate for them.“

Thank you, Dr. Tiller, for your humanity, your bravery, and for treating women with dignity and respect.

Allie Bohm writes:

“When you come here, bring only love . . .” read the banner that backdropped the Washington DC vigil in honor of Dr. Tiller. Some 200 people circled the banner, standing in front of the White House. One woman tearfully read prepared remarks, and then the floor was opened up, and women and men of all ages came forward to speak as the spirit moved them. Some of them knew Dr. Tiller personally. Many did not. Some were long-time veterans of the pro-choice movement; for others, Dr. Tiller’s murder had galvanized them to come to a pro-choice event for the first time.

“When you come here, bring only love . . .” Many of us in DC live in a heady world of policy debates, political statements, and moralizing. Dr. Tiller did not. Speaker after speaker emphasized that while we debate policy, the doctors, nurses, and receptionists in abortion clinics see their jobs as helping women and providing health care services, not as making a political statement. Dr. Tiller is a hero to many of the vigil’s attendees and a martyr to others. But, he did not set out to be a hero or a martyr. He set out to be a doctor. The speakers who knew Dr. Tiller emphasized his compassion and understanding for women.

One of the vigil’s speakers was a man who has been a clinic escort for 20 years, influenced by a high school classmate of his who died from a botched illegal abortion before Roe v. Wade; at the time she could not afford to go to NY for a safe legal abortion. Those of us who work in the policy sphere sometimes forget that access to safe abortion is a public health issue. He said, “I do not want my son to have to continue escorting when I finally retire.”

At the same time, a young woman who works with college students reported that in April Dr. Tiller told her, “Now, it’s your generation’s turn.” It is now all of our turns. Doctors should not have to risk their lives so that women do not have to die from pregnancy complications or back-alley abortions. As signs at the DC vigil read, it is time to “keep abortion providers safe now.”

(Originally posted on Feministing.)

It’s only been 100 days, but already reproductive freedom has come a long way. The first 100 days of the Obama administration have brought us more victories than we had in the eight years of the previous administration, and now seems like a good time to recognize and celebrate our success.

On his first Friday in office, President Obama rescinded the Global Gag Rule, restoring U.S. funding to international organizations that use their own, non-U.S. dollars to provide, refer for, and/or advocate for safe and legal abortion in their countries. This decision will both increase women’s access to desperately needed family planning services, such as contraceptives, HIV-AIDS prevention, and maternal care; and reaffirm the United States’ commitment to free speech and democratic participation.

At the same time, President Obama committed to reinvesting in the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, which is widely considered the best delivery system for international family planning funds worldwide. Also in the international realm, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been vocal in her support for reproductive health care and family planning services abroad and at home and has made it clear that reproductive freedom will be an important tenet of U.S. foreign policy.

Read more…

The Associated Press is reporting that Plan B (emergency contraception) will soon be available without a prescription for teens 17 and under. We expect the FDA to shortly announce its compliance with the court decision we reported on last month that slammed the FDA for its politically driven decision to impose an age restriction. We hope that this is the first step in making Plan B accessible and affordable for all women who need it.

Shackling pregnant women during active labor and childbirth is, unfortunately, all too common in our nation’s prisons and jails. One such victim of this practice was Shawanna Nelson, who entered the Arkansas prison system when she was six months’ pregnant, with a short sentence for a non-violent crime. When she went into labor, the correctional officer accompanying her shackled her legs to opposite sides of the bed, and removed the shackles only long enough for the nurses to examine her. Ms. Nelson remained with both her legs shackled to the bed until she was taken to the delivery room, and she was re-shackled immediately after the birth of her son, who weighed almost ten pounds. The shackles caused Ms. Nelson to suffer cramps and intense pain, as she could not adjust her position during contractions. After childbirth, the use of shackles caused her to soil the sheets, because she could not be unshackled quickly enough to get to a bathroom. The correctional officer knew that Ms. Nelson was not a flight risk, and knew that the restraints caused pain and unsanitary conditions. According to expert obstetricians, shackling women during labor is inherently dangerous.

A federal district judge ruled that a jury should decide whether Ms. Nelson’s treatment violated the Eighth Amendment, but the defendants appealed to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel reversed the district court and dismissed Ms. Nelson’s case. With the help of the ACLU’s National Prison Project (NPP), Ms. Nelson was able to persuade the court of appeals to grant rehearing before the entire court and in September 2008 NPP staff argued on Ms. Nelson’s behalf that her case should go to trial. We await a decision.

Meanwhile, the ACLU works to persuade prisons and jails to end this barbaric practice. The National Prison Project, together with the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, the Women’s Rights Project, and many of our state affiliates are part of a national coalition advocating for changes in policy and law at the federal and state level. To date, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Marshals’ Service have both issued policies severely limiting the shackling of pregnant women and several state legislatures are now considering bills to limit or end the practice. Our policy and advocacy work continues to raise national awareness about efforts to ban shackling of pregnant women prisoners across the country. In addition we continue to negotiate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ensure that pregnant women held as immigration detainees in federal, state and local facilities are not subject to this cruel and degrading practice.

Learn more about how pregnant women prisoners are treated in your state.

What are you waiting for?

If you haven’t already, be sure to submit your comments supporting President Obama’s proposed rescission of the Heath Care Denial Rule by Thursday, April 9. The rule, finalized in the waning hours of the Bush administration, severely limits access to medical care and information by allowing heath care providers to deny care to anyone who needs services the provider objects to.

Now, we at the ACLU are all about protecting religious freedom. But that isn’t what this rule is about. This rule doesn’t just apply to protect individual religious belief. It allows corporations like insurance companies and hospitals to deny patients care. Individuals’ religious beliefs are already protected by a federal law that carefully balances religious liberty with the need for patients to access health care. But this Bush rule takes patients’ needs completely out of the equation.

Which is why it’s essential that those of us who support access to heath care for all—whether it’s the morning-after pill for a rape victim or an HIV test for a college student—submit comments to support the rescission of this rule.

President Obama needs our support. When President Bush first proposed the rule back in August, more than 200,000 comments were submitted, most of them in opposition to the rule. We need to show President Obama that we support his actions to protect our access to health care.

So give the administration the backing it needs and submit a comment. Add your name to the growing list of people and organizations calling on the Obama administration to restore access to health care. Take action now.

(Cross-posted to Feministing and Daily Kos.)

(Originally posted on Daily Kos.)

What would you do if you went to your doctor to ask about ways of preventing pregnancy and your doctor neglected to mention birth control pills, IUDs, or other forms of contraception? What if a clinic receptionist refused to schedule an appointment for an HIV-test because he knew you were gay? Or, if you were a rape victim and the emergency room clinician not only denied you emergency contraception, but also declined to inform you that you could get it at the pharmacy down the street?

It sounds crazy, but the Health Care Denial Regulation — finalized in the eleventh hour of the Bush administration — invites this sort of behavior. The rule appears to permit institutions and individuals to deny women access to birth control and, moreover, to refuse to provide information and counseling about basic health care services, including information about abortion. It might even prevent states from enforcing their own laws requiring hospital emergency rooms to provide emergency contraception to rape survivors, requiring insurers to include contraceptives in their prescription drug benefit packages, and requiring pharmacies to dispense all valid prescriptions.

And, what’s more, this regulation is unnecessary. The Bush administration pushed the regulation through in the name of religious freedom, but for years, federal law has carefully balanced protections for individual religious liberty and patients’ access to reproductive health care. The regulation takes patients’ health needs out of the equation.

Fortunately, the Obama administration has taken the first step toward restoring the balance. On March 10, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposal to rescind Bush’s Health Care Denial Regulation. The public comment period on the proposal ends on April 9, which means we have less than three weeks to convince HHS that it’s making the right decision.

Give the administration the backing it needs. Add your name to the growing list of people and organizations calling on the Obama administration to restore access to health care. Take action now, and then be sure to post the ACLU’s handy web button on your web page, and forward our alert to everyone in your address book who cares about restoring access to basic reproductive health care.