THE PATH FORWARD Activists with the Texas Abortion - American Civil Liberties Union
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FOR PASSIONATE GUARDIANS OF CIVIL LIBERTIES
Activists with the Texas Abortion
Access Network are shaping
the future of reproductive freedom.
THE PATH FORWARD
SPRING 2022 | ACLU.ORG
IN T HI S I S S UE
02 In Brief
Executive Director Anthony D. Romero
spotlights how all civil liberties are local.
03 Letters to the Editor
Readers from around the country
respond to articles in the magazine.
FRO N T LI N E
04 Priorities
The ACLU is blocking racial
gerrymandering in the South.
06 Case Study
An ACLU client shares how she is
mobilizing Montana voters.
07 Know Your Rights
Offering food and drink to voters in line
16 is a form of free speech.
08 National Report
States want to censor discussion of
race in school. The ACLU is suing.
C ON T R IBU T OR S
10
Divided Highways
09 Friend of the Court
Board President Deborah N. Archer
answers your urgent questions.
The U.S. highway system has damaged Black VO I C ES
lives for generations. The ACLU’s work in Syracuse, 30 Queer Youth Summit
New York, could be a blueprint for repair. The ACLU of West Virginia is
By Jay A. Fernandez empowering young LGBTQ activists.
16
Jessica Chou
is a photographer
32 In Good Company
based in California. Businesses speak out against Texas’
She regularly anti-abortion law.
contributes to
TIME, The New Defending Abortion 33 Free Forum
York Times, and Artist Edel Rodriguez reflects on
With abortion rights on the precipice, the
P H OTO G R A P H S BY J ESS I CA C H O U (TO P) A N D YA E L M A L K A ( BOT TO M R I G H T)
I receive secure, fixed payments for life from the Rolling Stone. Her
project Suburban ACLU of Texas and its coalition of advocates
America’s failed promise of refuge.
Chinatown is are striking back beyond the courts. 34 Activist Spotlight
ACLU Foundation while deepening my commitment to reproductive currently on view.
By Rachel Wells Marci Iacobucci: creative director by
day, People Power leader by night.
24
rights, systemic equality, and fair access to voting. 35 My Stand
The founder of Mothers Against Police
Brutality talks UN advocacy.
With rates as high as 8.6%, learn more by visiting www.aclu.org/annuity Transgender Justice Now 36 ACLU Moment
or by returning the enclosed reply envelope. As anti-transgender legislation escalates, the The ACLU blocked internet censorship
in a landmark case 25 years ago.
Rachel Wells ACLU is fighting to advance trans justice
is a Nashville-based through gender-affirming care, sports, and IDs.
journalist. She covers
reproductive health, By Tom Vellner 34
sexual violence, and
culture. Her work has On the cover: Maria Cordero is a policy and advocacy
been published in strategist at the ACLU of Texas. She works with
Glamour and Rewire immigrant communities in the Rio Grande Valley.
News, among others. Photograph by Jessica Chou
Not an offer to issue annuities in Alabama, Hawaii, or Tennessee.
Must be at least 60 years old for immediate payments.
IN BR IEF L E T T ER S T O T HE EDI T OR
I
n this issue of ACLU Magazine, we’re and we filed a friend-of-the-court brief speech and transgender equality are
reminded that civil liberties are won in the Mississippi suit the court heard in equally widespread and aggressive, and
at the local level. At press time, we December. Taken together, there has we continue to challenge them. 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
filed two federal lawsuits objecting never been a more perilous moment for As you’ll read in this issue, these are New York, NY 10004
212-549-2500
to Alabama’s new state legislative abortion rights in my 20 years as execu- not abstract principles we’re debating. aclu.org/contact-us
and congressional district maps, and tive director. These policies have a consequential
Editorial Director
we filed a second redistricting lawsuit The stakes are high. These attacks on impact on daily lives, particularly those Marie-Adele Moniot
in Ohio, adding to our state-by-state voting rights and reproductive rights are of the most marginalized and vulnera- Managing Director
fight to block racial and partisan gerry- mission-central concerns for the ACLU. ble. In “Divided Highways” (p. 10), the Genie Cortez
Editorial Manager
mandering in the redistricting process. We are the only national organiza- ACLU’s New York affiliate is advocating Tom Vellner
These unconstitutional attacks on equal tion that has a litigation and lobbying for racial, environmental, and economic Editorial Adviser
representation deny Black communities presence in every state, and it’s become justice in the removal of the I-81 viaduct William Eisenman
their political power, particularly in the increasingly clear that the right to vote in Syracuse, a high-profile example of Creative Direction and Design
Pentagram
South, and the ACLU is fighting to ensure and the right to bodily integrity are how cities and states can restore com-
Production and Printing
a fair playing field for the all-important going to be won or lost at the state and munities of color decimated by the inter- MSP-C, a division of
November midterm elections. local levels. Legislative threats to free state highway system. “Transgender MSP Communications
The Fall 2021 Re: “Buried Truths” white Europeans. [We shouldn’t]
Also at press time, the U.S. Supreme Justice Now” (p. 24) outlines the coor- ACLU Magazine (ISSN 2640-3560) is a publication
issue of ACLU
for members and supporters of the American Civil I’m a 57-year-old Black male born legislate educators into maintaining
Court appears poised to overturn Roe v. dinated legislative attacks on the rights Liberties Union (ACLU). Send changes of address Magazine and raised in Minneapolis. In 1973, this white supremacist viewpoint.
Wade, which would shamefully discard “The threats to of transgender young people, highlight-
and questions about your ACLU membership
to membership@aclu.org; mail them to ACLU,
includes a
feature on racial my single mother was able to Connie Hohlfeld Molbeck
decades of legal precedent guaranteeing our freedom are ing how the ACLU works to safeguard 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004; or
call 212-549-2500. Send editorial correspondence covenants. purchase a home in a primarily Racine, WI
a constitutional right to abortion. The access to gender-affirming health care,
real—and so is
specific to the publication to ACLU Magazine, ACLU,
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004, white neighborhood. I find it
ACLU was lead counsel in this term’s Ken- school sports, and accurate IDs. And in or email to ACLUmagazine@aclu.org. This is not
quite miraculous that this occurred Re: “In Brief”
tucky abortion case and co-counsel in the the opportunity to “Defending Abortion” (p. 16), the Texas
a subscription publication, and we do not accept
unsolicited manuscripts or advertisements. ©2022 with the racial covenants that As you mention in the Fall 2021
effect change.”
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation. All rights
Texas abortion case covered in this issue, Abortion Access Network, a statewide reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without existed. Having a house of our own issue, “Voting rights and freedom
the express written consent of the ACLU. Requests
coalition of reproductive rights organi- for reprints should be directed to permissions@ provided me with stability and of speech are cornerstones of our
zations founded by the ACLU of Texas,
aclu.org. Published by ACLU, 125 Broad Street,
18th Floor, New York, NY 10004. Printed in the USA.
even my own small bedroom. democracy.” However, these basic
The ACLU comprises two separate corporate My mother eventually paid off the rights presume that voters have
trains and mobilizes activists to take entities, the American Civil Liberties Union and the
ACLU Foundation. Although both the American Civil house in 1991. access to reliable information to
on anti-abortion ordinances town by Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation are part of
the same overall organization, it is necessary that the Thank you for sharing this story foster enlightened debate. The
town, preserving access to essential ACLU has two separate organizations in order to do
about buried truths. If only more propagation of misinformation and
a broad range of work in protecting civil liberties. This
health care. magazine collectively refers to the two organizations Black families were given the chance baseless conspiracy theories…
The threats to our freedom are real—
under the name “ACLU.”
to own their homes, we would have threaten our democracy.
and so is the opportunity to effect Exchanging Mailing Lists: The ACLU defrays the
cost of our new-member recruitment by renting or a more equitable society. DC Martel
change. In the lead-up to the crucial exchanging our list with other nonprofit organizations
and publications, but never to partisan political groups Paul Dixon San Diego, CA
midterm elections, we must be stead- or to groups whose programs are incompatible
with ACLU policies. All lists are rented or exchanged
Minneapolis, MN
fast. What we do this year could make all according to strict privacy standards. We never give Re: “Restoring Asylum”
our list directly to any organization; instead, we send
the difference, and I know the ACLU com- the list to a letter shop that prepares the mailing for Re: Critical Race Theory When I began reading [about Inari
the organization that is participating in the rental
munity is ready. We can’t do this work or exchange. That organization never sees our list I live in Wisconsin, one of many Reyes], I expected a story of pain
and never knows what names are on it unless an
states where legislators are and heartbreak. It was wonderful
without your support. Our passion to individual responds to the organization’s mailing. The
ACLU always honors a member’s request not to make considering CRT legislation [banning to read that the San Diego Rapid
protect civil liberties and our devotion their name available. If you do not wish to receive
materials from other organizations, write to the ACLU inclusive education]. As a teacher, Response Network met her and her
to the democratic ideal bring us together Membership Department, and we will omit your name
I worked hard in my classroom to children and immediately tended
from list rental and exchange. Thank you for
in common purpose. The fight is for your understanding.
ensure that authors and stories to their needs and the betterment
a better tomorrow, one that offers true reflected the backgrounds of all of their future.
equality and a more perfect union for all. Connect with us.
Instagram: @aclu_nationwide
of my students. Most school Wanda Shirk
Twitter: @ACLU curriculum is written by and about Genesee, PA
Facebook: facebook.com/aclu
P H OTO G R A P H BY V I N C E N T T U L LO
We love your feedback! Let us know what you think about this issue: ACLUmagazine@aclu.org
A note from the chair of the ACLU National Board’s 2022 Nominating Committee: Please be advised
that ACLU members may submit nominations to the National Board for consideration by the
Nominating Committee for the 2022 slate. Please send your recommendation to: ACLU Nominating
Committee, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004. ACLU members may also make
Anthony D. Romero nominations to the National Board by submitting a petition with the names and signatures of 50 ACLU
Executive Director members to the address above.
2 ACLU Magazine Spring 2022 3
FRONT
LINE
P R I OR I T IE S
Fighting for Fair
Representation
The ACLU is blocking racial
gerrymandering and minority voter
dilution in the South.
When the U.S. Census Bureau finally released its
detailed population data in August, states began the
pivotal once-a-decade process of redrawing district
maps for 435 congressional districts and 7,383 state
legislative seats. As expected, the results have been
alarming. Rife with political gamesmanship and ger-
rymandering, especially in the Southern states, the
manipulated maps undermine the bedrock princi-
ple of equal representation. In the heated run-up to
the November midterms, the ACLU is fighting for fair
representation to make sure that voters are choosing
their politicians and not the other way around.
Congressional and state legislative district maps
The ACLU is
working to determine the allocation of not only political power
ensure voters but also community resources. The threat to under-
choose their represented communities of color is especially
politicians and
not the other acute, as corrupt redistricting can further dilute
way around. voting power and thwart efforts to block legislation
I L LU ST R AT I O N BY DA L B E RT B. V I L A R I N O Spring 2022 5
P R I OR I T IE S C A S E ST UDY K N OW YOUR R I GH T S
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
that sustains inequality. The ACLU is uniquely
focused on litigating to make sure that fairer maps Every
lead to more equitable representation. “These dis-
trict lines are going to affect policies across the Native
spectrum—abortion, LGBTQ rights, immigration,
school policy—for a decade,” says Sophia Lin Lakin, Vote
deputy director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project.
“We must ensure that Black and Brown voters have
fairer opportunities to elect candidates that truly
Counts
represent them at the state level.” The ACLU challenges
This redistricting cycle, the ACLU has been work- two Montana laws that
ing in more than 30 states, from litigating unfair disenfranchise voters
maps to advocating for increased transparency
in the legislative process. In September, the ACLU
on reservations. Your Voice,
filed a partisan gerrymandering lawsuit challeng- Your Vote
ing Ohio’s newly drawn maps, which give extreme Rural reservations are some of Voting should be easy and
advantage to one party. In a huge victory, the Ohio the most isolated voter locations accessible. But in the past year,
Supreme Court ordered the redrawing of a new, con- in the country. Last year, the more than 400 anti-voter bills
stitutional map. In October, the ACLU and its part- Montana state legislature passed have been introduced in state
ners filed a federal lawsuit challenging the South two new laws that make it even legislatures. In addition to
Carolina legislature’s delay in redrawing its maps, more difficult for Native voters violating equal protection, these
which denies the public time to evaluate the new to cast their vote. H.B. 176 ends bills often infringe on voters’
maps before the primaries’ March filing deadline. same-day voter registration, and freedom of speech.
The ACLU later challenged the state’s new racially H.B. 530 blocks ballot collection In March 2021, Georgia
gerrymandered House map. And in November, on rural reservations. The ACLU, adopted a sweeping voter
the ACLU was party to a pair of federal lawsuits the ACLU of Montana, Native suppression law, S.B. 202, that
objecting to Alabama’s racially gerrymandered American Rights Fund, and the restricted drop-box locations
maps as violations of the Fourteenth Amendment Election Law Clinic at Harvard and drastically reduced early
and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Law School are challenging the voting times. The ACLU
The stakes are high, and the timeline crunched, bills on behalf of Western Native immediately joined civil rights
since the census data used in redistricting was Voice (WNV) and Montana Native groups to challenge the law in
released four months late, and the 2022 primaries Vote, organizations working federal court.
and general elections are fast approaching. But as to increase civic participation in One of the most egregious
more maps are released, the ACLU is filing lawsuits Native communities, and four How do you mobilize Native Ronnie Jo Horse registration opportunities Native vote and its impact on aspects of S.B. 202 is that it
challenging maps that deprive communities of color Tribal Nations. voters? is the executive and polling sites, limiting the election results.
director of makes it a crime for people to
of political power in Arkansas, Georgia, and other ACLU Magazine spoke with We hire from within the Western Native window of opportunity to vote provide food and water to voters
Southern states guilty of the practice in the past. Ronnie Jo Horse, executive communities we’re serving. It Voice, which on reservations. By definition, What is the most important standing in line. This so-called line-
Fighting for equal representation has always director of WNV and a citizen of allows us to approach people empowers oppression is prolonged, unjust thing for people outside of
voters on rural warming ban violates Georgians’
been a fundamental part of the ACLU’s mission, the Oglala Lakota Nation, about with a sense of trust: “Oh, I know reservations. treatment. That is what’s Montana to understand about First Amendment rights—offering
beginning with the seminal 1964 Supreme Court her organization’s efforts to this person—they grew up in my happening in Montana and to its voting on rural reservations? food and drink is considered
case Reynolds v. Sims that established the “one mobilize voters in Montana. community.” That really helps Native communities. Montana is one of the protected expression—and
person, one vote” principle. Voting access is a civil us mobilize voters. During the battlegrounds for this national disproportionately impacts
rights issue, and the preservation of civil liber- How did you get involved with pandemic, we’ve been connecting How do you think these laws distrust in our democratic communities of color, who face
ties depends on fair representation. S.B. 8, the WNV? What is your mission? virtually. We [hosted] a podcast will impact Native participation system of elections. Voter longer wait times at the polls.
extreme abortion ban in Texas, is a clear exam- I first heard about Western Native on SoundCloud. We have an online in the midterm elections? suppression and recent ballot Like voting, freedom of
ple of what happens when officials elected via Voice when I was in college. Our registration portal. Functionally, they discourage initiatives [are] a direct threat speech is the foundation of
a gamed system don’t reflect their communities’ mission is to foster positive the Native vote. It’s something to democracy. Montana can a healthy democracy. Without it,
values. “Everybody is fighting as hard as they can social change in our communities. What makes Montana’s most that we hope not to carry into be a testing ground for efforts other fundamental rights are
to ensure that voting rights are protected and fairer We do this through leadership recent voter suppression laws so the midterms. But again, that to turn the tide. at risk.
maps are in place,” says Lakin. “It’s extremely development, education, oppressive? was not designed by mistake.
important, especially at the state level, for all the civic engagement, and public [Legislators] know that Native The lawmakers who created the Protect your fundamental right to vote To learn more about your rights, visit
policies we care deeply about.” —JAY A. FERNANDEZ policy advocacy. Americans are far from voter laws are not blind to the strong at aclu.org/vraa. aclu.org/kyr.
6 ACLU Magazine P H OTO G R A P H BY LO U I S E J O H N S I L LU ST R AT I O N BY B E N H I C K E Y
N AT ION A L R EP OR T F R IEND OF T HE C OUR T
Censorship in New Hampshire
H.B. 544 prevents the teaching of A Free Exchange
the Classroom racism, sexism, and other forms of dis-
crimination in public schools and state- of Ideas
funded programs. Its passage would
The ACLU is protecting free speech National Board President Deborah N. Archer
rob students of an equitable educa-
by battling state laws that ban tion that includes open and honest answers readers’ questions about abortion
the teaching of critical race theory. dialogue about the country’s legacy access in Texas, free speech in the classroom,
of oppression. and how you can make your voice heard.
q:
Last year, at least 27 state legislatures the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Tech- Alabama
passed or proposed bills censoring the nology Project. “Many states are also A resolution banning discussions of How can a person sue someone
discussion of race and gender in public trying to limit the free exchange of ideas historical oppression in grades K–12 for getting an abortion in Texas?
school and university classrooms. in our institutions of higher learning.” passed the State Board of Education in The decision does not impact the
Many of these bans target critical race Here are some of the states where the August. In its next session, the legisla- person filing the lawsuit. Doesn’t
theory (CRT), which legislatures use to ACLU is fighting to protect the integrity ture will take up H.B. 11, which would one have to have standing to sue?
describe anything from diversity train- of education: make teaching CRT a fireable offense. Last year, the state of Texas
ings to literature by authors of color. In enacted one of the most
reality, CRT is an academic discipline Oklahoma Idaho restrictive abortion bans in the
that addresses systemic inequalities Enacted last May, H.B. 1775 forbids Signed into law last April, H.B. 377 country, Senate Bill 8 (S.B. 8). The
built into U.S. policies and institutions. public schools from teaching courses prevents funding for institutions that law is blatantly unconstitutional.
As unconstitutional violations of free that include certain concepts of race teach material, such as CRT, judged to But what makes it uniquely
speech, the state restrictions infringe on and gender. Books such as Their Eyes “exacerbate and inflame divisions.” egregious is it gives standing
students’ fundamental right to receive Were Watching God and A Raisin in the The statute’s vague language censors to any person anywhere to sue
information and an inclusive education Sun have been struck from reading lists, classroom discussion about implicit a person who performed or
as well as teachers’ right to academic and teachers have been told to drop the bias, racism, and sexism. The ACLU is helped someone get an abortion.
freedom. “These deeply misguided laws words “diversity” and “white privilege” considering litigation to challenge the That means that anyone—even
are trying to perpetuate white suprem- from classroom discussion. The ACLU law in court. —J.A.F. someone unconnected to the
acy into the next generation,” says Emer- and partners filed suit in October chal- person having the abortion—can
son J. Sykes, senior staff attorney with lenging the law. Visit aclu.org/freespeech to learn more. sue abortion providers and those
who assist them. S.B. 8 does not
allow lawsuits against people
who receive abortions. The ACLU responded swiftly with litigation people urge legislators to defend
and its partners sued to block the (see National Report, p. 8). civil liberties?
ban, but the Supreme Court ruled Blocking government censorship From your local city officials to
that the most significant part is part of the ACLU’s DNA, your representatives in D.C.,
of our case must be dismissed, dating back to the proliferation legislators are eager to hear
leaving us only a narrow path to of anti-evolution laws in the from you. Look them up at
continue our legal challenge. 1920s, when we defended a high commoncause.org. One of the
school science teacher in the most effective ways to use your
I really enjoyed the article in the seminal Scopes Monkey Trial. voice is to go beyond the phone or
Fall issue about student speech. Legal challenges are just one email and schedule in-person
Keep up the pressure, please. part of the story; public advocacy or virtual meetings. Ask questions
Is the ACLU challenging the state and education about these laws about how they’re prioritizing
of Florida’s efforts to control are essential to preserving voting rights, reproductive
free speech and ban schools a free exchange of ideas in the freedom, LGBTQ equality, and
from teaching about racism? classroom and beyond. other civil rights and liberties we
Last year, more than two dozen defend. Remember: Your elected
states passed or proposed Beneath many of the articles officials work for you!
legislation censoring discussion inside ACLU Magazine, readers
of race or gender in the classroom, are encouraged to contact their Please send your questions to
including Florida. The ACLU has legislators. How can everyday ACLUmagazine@aclu.org.
8 ACLU Magazine I L LU ST R AT I O N BY PA B LO D E LCÁ N P H OTO G R A P H BY ST E P H A N I E M E I - L I N G Spring 2022 9
The United States Interstate
Highway System is structural racism
in action: an intentional government
program that has damaged Black
lives for generations. Now the
highways are crumbling. It’s time to
correct the harm and reconnect
shattered communities.
BY JAY A. FERNANDEZ
Divided
HIGHWAYs D
avid Rufus was just a toddler when the
bulldozers rolled into the streets of his
Syracuse, New York, neighborhood in
1960. As part of the country’s interstate
highways surge, city officials wanted to
extend I-81 with an elevated viaduct that
would cut right through the 15th Ward,
where nearly 90 percent of Syracuse’s Black population lived.
Protesting locals were ignored, and the razing of homes,
churches, and businesses resulted in the displacement
of more than 1,300 families, including Rufus’. Over the next
50 years, the 15th Ward community suffered in every way
possible—jobs, housing, schools, and public health plunged
while crime, pollution, and poverty spiked.
“I’ve lived in this community all my 64 years,” says Rufus,
who’s lost several family members to respiratory illness.
“I’ve seen the move from a very vibrant and interactive
community of people of color to a community that has been
shunned and overlooked and broken down.” The I-81 proj-
ect was completed in 1968—and Syracuse remains one of
the most segregated cities in the country, with the highest
concentration of poverty among communities of color and
one of the highest rates of lead poisoning in children. The
10 ACLU Magazine ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOAN WONG Spring 2022 11
viaduct still physically separates the poorest and wealthi- A lot is riding on the effort, as wrongheaded plans would city in the country, that damaged every aspect of Black
est communities, and the city’s Black population has been simply reinforce the historical damage or encourage gen- lives—cultural, economic, environmental, educational—
P H OTO G R A P H S BY M A R J O RY W I L K I N S U S E D W I T H P E R M I SS I O N O F T H E W I L K I N S ESTAT E V I A A RT R AG E G A L L E RY
P H OTO G R A P H BY S H E L D O N SA B L E ST U D I O/CO U RT ESY O F T H E O N O N DAG A H I STO R I CA L ASSO C I AT I O N ( L E F T) ;
harmed for generations. trification that displaces the neighborhood’s residents yet for generations.
T
This was by design. again. No one understands the stakes better than Rufus, now
The interstate highway system birthed by the Federal-Aid the NYCLU’s dedicated I-81 community organizer. “If I-81 is he “Monster.” That’s what some resi-
Highway Act of 1956 was the largest public works program a successful project, and it provides the kind of rebuilding of dents of Tremé and the 7th Ward of New
the country had ever embarked upon. More than 40,000 miles wealth and community that is so necessary, it could become Orleans call the Claiborne Expressway, the
of highway were planned and built steadily through the ’60s a blueprint for the state and for the country,” he says. “Jus- I-10 overpass that demolished the neigh-
and ’70s as a driver of economic progress. As the civil rights tice elements like the ACLU and NYCLU have to make sure borhood in 1968. West Baltimore residents
movement was gaining momentum, the highway system that the tools the federal government gives [us] aren’t used named theirs—State Route 40—the “Road
became a way to enforce segregation through other, quite as assault weapons against the neighborhood.” to Nowhere.” Interstate-20 in Atlanta. The housing market cratered. Pollution—noise and envi-
literal, means. So-called slum clearance destroyed under- When most of us think of racial injustice, interstate high- I-579 in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. I-95 that wrecked Miami’s ronmental—spread: rates of illness, particularly asthma,
resourced but thriving working-class Black neighborhoods way design isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. It is, Overtown neighborhood, known then as the “Harlem of the rose dramatically in those neighborhoods crammed against
while enhancing the flow of white commutes and tax dollars in fact, a perfect example of structural racism in action: South.” I-65 and I-85 in Montgomery, (and sometimes under) the freeways
to the suburbs. Communities of color were cut off from devel- intentional government policy, enacted in almost every Alabama, rerouted through Centennial and overpasses.
oping downtown centers, and not just freeways but also refin- Hill, Bel Air, and the Bottoms as retalia- Articles from the time abound with
eries, landfills, and power plants were dumped in non-white tion for civil rights activity (Revs. Martin efforts to stop the projects. But it was
areas labeled “sacrifice communities.” Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy the same story every time: The com-
Now many of these highways are crumbling, and cities are lived there). The examples are endless. munity was not asked for input and
weighing how to repair, revamp, or remove them. For racial The ripple effects of these high- held no political power. This was
justice advocates, these looming infrastructure projects are way projects were immediate and far- adding insult to injury since many of
a crucial opportunity to redress the historical discrimina- reaching, the cumulative devastation these majority-Black neighborhoods
tion built into them. The I-81 in Syracuse, which is failing, has staggering. No aspect of neighbor- had sprung up in the first place because
become the highest-profile example of the potential to undo hood life and culture went untouched. of redlining and Jim Crow segrega-
this damage and create a new model for reconnecting shat- Historic 15th Ward Healthy food became scarce. Businesses tion. While they often became vibrant,
tered communities with equitable resources. The ACLU’s New failed. Job opportunities diminished. self-contained enclaves, the fact that
York affiliate, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), they were under-invested and over-
has been advocating for a decade to ensure that this time the After the mid-century crowded was subsequently used as
extension of I-81 in
community has a voice in what happens. The NYCLU’s 2020 Syracuse, more than rationale for destroying them. One of the most devastating
report, “Building a Better Future: The Structural Racism 1,300 families in I-81 effects has been how these inequities have reinforced the
Built into I-81, and How to Tear It Down,” has been instru- the 15th Ward were racial wealth gap.
displaced, and a vibrant
mental in pushing the city’s plans in a more just direction Black community was “These big concrete barriers further concentrated race
that takes a reparative approach. destroyed. and poverty, coupled with redlining, where folks were
unfairly denied mortgages or more affordable lines of credit
to invest in their communities,” says Carlos Moreno, a senior
campaign strategist who leads the ACLU’s Systemic Equal-
ity agenda to address America’s legacy of racism through
advocacy and litigation. “The first avenue for wealth is
buying a first home and having it appreciate. Homes in red-
lined communities typically do not appreciate.”
And it’s still happening. In Charleston County, South Car-
olina, local groups, including the ACLU of South Carolina,
had to pressure the county to revise its plan for widening
Highway 41 so that it will do a better job of minimizing the
impact on Mount Pleasant’s historic Phillips Community,
one of the last remaining Black settlement communities in
the region.
Harrison Street was
a vibrant commercial “These types of projects upset the ecosystem,” says Helen
district in the 15th Ward. Mrema, community organizing advocate at the ACLU of South
Pictured (left to right): Carolina, one of 12 ACLU affiliates that make up the Southern
Schor’s Market; Doris
Dunham, Gloria Rohadfox, Collective, an initiative to build Black political power and rep-
and Evelyn Branch in resentation in the South. “They force residents to move and
front of Irving Friedman’s figure out how to tap back into resources that are now even
barbershop; and Sam
Adams and friends at an ice more difficult to access. It creates a targeted community that
cream parlor. is essentially set up to fail.”
Spring 2022 13
T
approach that works to close the wealth gap and reconnect he generational setbacks of these high-
T
fragmented parts of the community. way decisions still resonate today, com-
he Central New York chapter of the Additionally, along with coalition partners CNY Solidarity pounding over time to exacerbate the
NYCLU was born in the spring of 1963 as Coalition and Urban Jobs Task Force, the NYCLU has pres- racial wealth gap and withhold the Amer-
a direct result of the police harassment sured NYSDOT and local trade unions to commit to racial ican dream from too many communities
and arrest of 15th Ward residents pro- equity in hiring so that local community workers bene- of color. Closing this gap is a major goal of
testing the destruction of their neigh- fit from the thousands of construction jobs created by the the ACLU’s Systemic Equality campaign,
borhood for the I-81 viaduct. And now the I-81 project. Meanwhile, Rufus helps residents understand since comprehensive reparations are the only way to repair
community has another chance to influ- their rights and contribute their voices to the process, liais- the historic inequality driven by racist policies, a lack of job
ence the highway’s reconstruction and reimagining. ing with the DOT, the board of education, the mayor’s office, opportunities, and depressed home ownership.
“What we do is try to empower and reactivate the commu- Byhalia oil pipeline and the Syracuse Common Council. “Three years ago,” says “Redressing harm could take the form of providing proper
nity,” says Lanessa Owens-Chaplin, assistant director of the through southwest Owens-Chaplin, “DOT wasn’t talking about equity or restor- housing, investing in communities through grants for busi-
NYCLU’s Education Policy Center. “Because they lost that Memphis in July. And in ative justice or how can we repair the community. Today, they nesses, or passing baby bonds legislation to give folks assets,”
fight. So how can we convince them that maybe we can win November, New Yorkers are talking about it. So there is progress.” says Moreno. “Because when we’re talking about closing the
this one? In the ’50s and ’60s, we didn’t have many protec- passed Proposition 2, The draft environmental impact statement NYSDOT racial wealth gap, we’re not necessarily talking about income.
tions. Now it’s a different fight.” which establishes that released in July included key changes to the preferred The main focus with systemic equality is to find an innovative
In recent years, more people and high-level institutions have each person “shall have community-grid version of the I-81 revamp. Air-quality mon- set of tools or programs that provide immediate material relief
acknowledged the structural racism built into the country’s a right to clean air and itoring systems will now be placed around houses nearest for Black communities living in poverty.”
highway system. ACLU National Board President Deborah water, and a healthful the construction. And, of key importance, a land use working The potential for transformation is national in scope: Right
N. Archer is one of the leading national scholars on the issue. environment.” group will be created so that local leaders and residents have now, nearly 30 cities have plans in the works to repair crum-
Her seminal Vanderbilt Law Review piece, “White Men’s Roads True justice requires a prominent voice in making sure the 10 to 12 acres freed up by bling urban highways. They could prioritize reparative justice
Through Black Men’s Homes: Advancing Racial Equity Through Advocating for the fair, meaningful the viaduct’s removal are used in a way by taking cues from the NYCLU’s I-81 pro-
Highway Reconstruction,” established transportation policy Environmental involvement of everyone. that benefits the existing community, posal: protect future land use so that res-
as a civil rights issue, and her work has laid the constitutional Repairing these inequities whether through local business devel- idents of the affected community have
and policy framework for remedying these injustices. Archer
Justice and ensuring that opment, affordable housing, or usable preference in any development; create
has advised Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who in communities of color have green spaces. a community restoration fund to elimi-
April 2021, acknowledged publicly that the “racism physically healthy environments “The biggest point of the effort is nate environmental hazards and com-
built into some of our highways” was a “conscious choice.” And in which to live, learn, holding the government accountable,” pensate those whose health and wealth
while grassroots organizers and environmental justice groups Many of the neighborhoods and work are key says Owens-Chaplin. “That’s what the have been negatively impacted; devote
have long been calling attention to the devastating damage most impacted by urban to the ACLU’s Systemic big fight is here in Syracuse. It’s easy for revenue generated from community
highway planning inflicted on communities of color, the Biden highway design fall under Equality campaign. them now, 60 years later, to recognize development to increase school funding
administration’s inclusion of the issue in the $1.2 trillion infra- the EPA designation the damage they’ve done, but they’re in an equitable manner that redresses
structure plan signed in November has opened the door for “environmental justice Visit aclu.org/equalitynow. still not doing what they need to do to long-standing underfunding; and pro-
more organizations to take on this type of work. Calling out I-81 community.” Rates of restore the community.” vide hotel vouchers, market-rate buy-
and the Claiborne Expressway in particular, the plan earmarks asthma, cancer, and stress outs, rent subsidies, and/or temporary
$1 billion for a new program called Reconnecting Communities are much higher, while relocation assistance to those households
that “will reconnect neighborhoods cut off by historic invest- low-income housing most likely to be impacted by construction, along with auto-
ments and ensure new projects increase opportunity [and] is more prone to mold matic right of return when the construction ends.
advance racial equity and environmental justice.” and more likely to be The NYCLU’s campaign on the I-81 viaduct is crucial to
“The infrastructure plan gives it more bite,” says located in flood zones. establishing a template for how these projects can actively
Owens-Chaplin. “State governments are not only being held Redlined city communities address systemic injustice and knit these communities back
accountable by their community, now we have the adminis- are almost five degrees together. The bottom line is to ensure that “people who have
tration calling for this kind of restorative justice. New York warmer on average. lived their lives in the neighborhood are able to stay, engage
state can be a great example if we can get them to think out- With its related issues equitably in the rejuvenation of the community, and begin
side the scope of just laying slabs of concrete down and really of racial and Indigenous to build wealth.”
start thinking about restoring the community.” justice, environmental “It’s important for the ACLU to be taking on these issues
The NYCLU, which had dedicated additional resources justice is an area of because it really is an issue of civil rights and racial justice,”
and staff to the I-81 project in 2018, incorporated volumi- advocacy to which the says Owens-Chaplin. “We need to make sure that everyone
nous feedback from the community to outline a vision for ACLU is devoting more has power over government decision-making, and everyone’s
the revitalization project that this time honors the people’s resources. The ACLU and rights are preserved and protected.”
needs. It urged the New York State Department of Transpor- its Tennessee affiliate “This is an opportunity for the country to get it right this
tation (NYSDOT) to transfer any developable land to a trust threw their weight behind time,” says Rufus. “When they designed I-81, they just drew
controlled by the residents, maintain meaningful economic the successful campaign it with a black pen. They didn’t stop to take the time to see
and environmental safeguards for those living along the to block the proposed if that black line ran over a person’s house or a person’s
viaduct during and after construction, and take a reparative head—or a person’s heart.”
14 ACLU Magazine Spring 2022 15
TAAN members
gather in Houston
(left to right): Ana
Rodriguez of Texas
Equal Access Fund
and Lilith Fund,
Nneka Iheanacho of
Avow Texas, Blair
Wallace of the
ACLU of Texas, and
Sahra Harvin of
Fund Texas Choice.
DEFENDING ABORTION
With abortion restrictions
on the rise, forcing people
to carry pregnancies
against their will, the
Texas Abortion Access
Network is forging a new
path: mobilizing a broad
coalition of activists to
stop anti-abortion efforts
where they start—at the
local level.
BY RACHEL WELLS
16 ACLU Magazine PHOTOGRAPHS BY JESSICA CHOU Spring 2022 17In just six months, 2021 became the worst Lubbock resident Kim
Gonzalez protests anti-
abortion ordinances in
year for abortion rights in the near half- her community.
century since Roe v. Wade was decided in The ACLU, along with the Center for
1973. In the midst of a global pandemic, state Reproductive Rights, Planned Parent-
hood, the Lawyering Project, and pro
legislatures across the U.S. passed 106 abor- bono law firm Morrison & Foerster, is
challenging S.B. 8 in court. However,
tion restrictions in 19 states, building off in December, the Supreme Court ruled
that the most significant part of the case
a decades-long strategy by anti-abortion must be dismissed. A devastating blow,
this ruling leaves S.B. 8 in effect while
extremists to chip away at abortion access the case returns to the district court.
And yet, even if the court had blocked
even as the legal right to it remained in place. the ban, abortion would have remained
out of reach for many people in Texas.
Since 2019, emboldened by the reconfigura- By the time S.B. 8 went into effect,
only a handful of Texas’ abortion clin-
tion of the Supreme Court, legislators have ics still existed. The Planned Parent-
hood in Lubbock, a midsize city in West
passed stricter abortion bans that brazenly Texas, was one of many clinics in the
region that closed after the passing
violate the constitutional right to abortion. of House Bill 2, a 2013 state law that
placed onerous and medically unnec-
Now, for the first time in three decades, the essary restrictions on abortion clinics.
Without Planned Parenthood, people
court is considering whether to overturn seeking abortions in Lubbock had to
travel 300 miles—one way. When the
Roe in a case challenging a 15-week abortion Supreme Court overturned the restric-
tions three years later, it was too late:
ban in Mississippi. A decision from the court many of the clinics were gone.
is expected early this summer. In 2021, Lubbock became the 26th
municipality in the country to pass an
anti-abortion ordinance in a growing
But first: Texas. When Senate Bill 8 “What Texas has done is a cynical movement by anti-abortion opponents
took effect in September, its novel attempt to push abortion out of reach by to make abortion illegal at the local level.
enforcement strategy dramatically banning it in this way that allows only pri- S.B. 8’s radical enforcement framework
altered the legal playbook for repro- vate individuals to sue, which makes it found its legal origin in local ordinances
ductive rights. The extreme Texas law more complicated to get the law blocked,” like Lubbock’s.
bans abortion at six weeks, before many says Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the When whispers of an anti-abortion
people even know they are pregnant. ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project. ordinance first started spreading
S.B. 8 encourages private citizens any- The ban has had an immediate and dev- through town, Kim Gonzalez, a Lub-
where in the country to act as bounty astating impact on the ground. As with bock resident who’s worked in health
hunters by awarding them $10,000 if most abortion restrictions, the impact of care for 20 years, didn’t waste any
they successfully sue another person forced pregnancy legislation has dispro- time. After traveling outside of the
for providing an abortion or helping portionately affected low-income people state for an abortion when her local
someone receive one in Texas. This ban and people of color, particularly Black clinic was shut down in 2013, Gonza-
is intentionally designed to overwhelm women, who are three times more likely lez vowed to fight the efforts to restrict
clinics, legally and financially, ultimately to die during or shortly after childbirth abortion access again. Using knowl-
forcing them to shut down. than white women. edge gained from the Texas Abortion
18 ACLU Magazine Spring 2022 19Access Network (TAAN), she and other Dickson, had been showing up in small before turning south toward the Rio municipalities to pass these unconstitu- communities in the Rio Grande Valley
advocates worked with Planned Par-
enthood and the ACLU of Texas to
towns across Texas, testing out legal
approaches to local ordinances and
Grande Valley.
The Lubbock City Council listened to
tional and malicious ordinances,” says
Andre Segura, legal director of the ACLU
since 2014. The group Cordero has built
is so high-functioning it’s a large part of
ACLU
gather powerful testimony from abor- crafting an anti-abortion web starting its community and unanimously voted of Texas. “These ordinances stigmatize what inspired Wallace to create TAAN. at the
tion providers, organize protests, and
coordinate messaging.
in the east with Waskom, moving north
to Gilmer and Westbrook, then west
down the ordinance, but those behind it
pushed for a citywide vote based on Lub-
abortion care, hurt those who provide it,
and shame the people who need it.”
“I always say Maria is my organizing
hero. Maria’s strategy is a model of rela-
Supreme
Led by Blair Wallace, a policy and toward Colorado City and Lubbock, bock city charter rules. Ultimately, the “Often people don’t pay attention to tional organizing and it’s how she has Court
advocacy strategist at the ACLU of ordinance passed and the Planned Par- their localized politics because it seems been so successful,” says Wallace. “She’s
Texas, TAAN is a coalition of repro- Heidi Gerbracht’s enthood of Lubbock had to stop provid- too minute. Lubbock is a perfect example been doing this for so long, and the com-
ductive rights advocates that monitor organization, Equity ing abortions—again. The ACLU of Texas of how one thing can affect [everyone],” munities deeply trust her and know that
their city governments. Wallace cre- Agenda, pushes is suing the city. says Wallace. “Going back to Waskom, if there’s ever anything they need they
city governments
ated the program in 2020 to strengthen on issues such as “Anti-abortion advocates have been where this legislation began, a town of can come to her.”
local advocacy after witnessing a grow- reproductive rights. crisscrossing the state, pressuring less than 2,000 people enacted an ordi- At intimate kitchen meetings,
ing trend of anti-abortion ordinances nance [in 2019] that trickled down to the Cordero held trainings on a myriad of In October, the ACLU argued
known as “sanctuary cities for the entire state. We need to zoom out from civil rights issues including immigra- Cameron v. EMW Women’s
unborn.” Unlike state-level bills that politics at large and really focus on what’s tion and abortion rights; her neighbors Surgical Center before the
make abortion illegal at a specific week happening in our own communities.” carry that work forward. “I was helping, Supreme Court, which will
of pregnancy, sanctuary city ordinances Heidi Gerbracht is a city strategist and but it was work from the community decide whether Kentucky
make abortion entirely illegal in a single founder of Equity Agenda, an organiza- members replicating the work I did at Attorney General Daniel
city or town. “We have designed a pretty tion that works with city governments the starting point. That’s power,” says Cameron can intervene in
incredible curriculum around abortion to create more equitable communities. Cordero. “That’s how the ACLU shows a case two lower courts have
advocacy. We’re teaching folks to be Gerbracht has always believed that what democracy looks like. The com- deemed unconstitutional. The
their own leaders. We can’t be every- local work is the answer and points to munity members are speaking by them- case involves a Kentucky law
where. Even as an abortion coalition in the power of enrolling city issue experts selves about their needs and working to that effectively bans abortion
Texas, we can’t be in every city,” says into local advocacy for reproductive make the change happen.” The power at 15 weeks and prevents
Wallace. “We’re giving people the tools rights. “There’s an opportunity to orga- of that reciprocity is what TAAN hopes physicians from providing
and educational resources they need to nize people in the development and to harness. “Maria can’t do it for all of a common procedure called
be able to go to their city council, to take real estate world,” she says. “There’s Texas, but if we have a thousand Marias, dilation and evacuation, or D&E.
leadership into their own hands.” an opportunity to organize folks who then we have a much better chance,” Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, a senior
TAAN mobilizes community organiz- are doing zoning and involved in land says Wallace. staff attorney with the ACLU’s
ers, advocates and activists, and lead- use conversations. There’s an opportu- “It’s hard to talk about reproductive Reproductive Freedom Project,
ing reproductive rights organizations nity to engage a lot of different people rights in Rio Grande Valley in South argued the case. “Cameron is
including the ACLU of Texas, TEA Fund, we don’t currently engage with.” After Texas,” Cordero explains. But in July, trying to revive the abortion
Avow, Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, S.B. 8 passed in September, the ACLU when an ordinance similar to Lubbock’s ban that we successfully struck
Progress Texas, the Afiya Center, Texas and its partners mobilized more than came to Edinburg, the third-largest city down twice,” she says. “The
Freedom Network, Jane’s Due Process, 50 companies representing more than in the Rio Grande Valley, it was met with question before the court is
Deeds Not Words, Lilith Fund, Fund Texas 300,000 workers to speak out against immediate resistance. Whole Woman’s whether [he’s] allowed to enter
Choice, and Planned Parenthood the ban (see In Good Company, p. 32). Health of McAllen, just south of Edin- the litigation at this late stage.
Texas Votes. Through TAAN Academy, Leveraging an entire community burg, is the only abortion clinic in the Rio But the stakes are obviously
a two-month training program, par- is vital to the health of local organiz- Grande Valley, serving a region of 1.4 mil- much broader than that.”
ticipants learn tactics for thwarting ing, and no one knows that better than lion people. Cordero and local reproduc- Kentucky is a haven for
anti-abortion ordinances through a cur- Maria Cordero. Cordero is a policy and tive rights activists alerted TAAN to the surrounding states that have
riculum that covers topics such as Texas advocacy strategist at the ACLU of Texas threat. TAAN quickly provided media even less access to abortion
legislative abortion history, communica- and has been working with immigrant messaging and city council strategy. or none at all. There is only one
tions messaging, and advocacy strategy. clinic in Kentucky that provides
“The person pushing the [Lubbock second-trimester abortions,
ordinance] portrayed himself as being but it sees patients from
a West Texan; he’s not. He’s from East Tennessee, Indiana, and West
Texas,” says Gonzalez. “He’d come in “THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE Virginia. If the Supreme Court
and say he’s ‘a local guy trying to make
a change in the community.’ He’s not a SPEAKING BY THEMSELVES ABOUT allows the attorney general
to intervene, it will effectively
local guy; he’s from 400 miles away, but
THEIR NEEDS AND WORKING cut off abortion access in
the people here didn’t know that.” The
man behind the movement, Mark Lee TO MAKE THE CHANGE HAPPEN.” the region.
20 ACLU Magazine Spring 2022 21Many community members from Edin-
burg and nearby cities shared power- BATTLING THE ONSLAUGHT OF
ful testimony at the hearing. After three
COPYCAT ORDINANCES WILL TAKE
hours of comments, the city council
ceased to motion the ordinance forward. SIGNIFICANT LEGAL AND GRASSROOTS
“For us to stop the proposal in Edin-
burg was a big win,” says Cordero. The
ORGANIZING FIREPOWER.
success in Edinburg and TAAN’s growth
across Texas are resonating with ACLU
affiliates in other states facing copy-
cat ordinances. The same person who grassroots people,” says Wallace. “We if you had the [large-scale] recognition
charted the local anti-abortion legis- had grassroots folks in Ohio find TAAN that cities were a crucial locus of activ-
lation across Texas made his way to because they passed one of these ordi- ity, funding would be targeted toward
Southwest Florida and is pushing for an nances. I was able to connect them with increasing the expertise that we have on
ordinance in Naples. Planned Parent- [other] organizations.” the local level,” says Gerbracht.
hood and 16 other organizations created Gerbracht stresses the importance of
a counterpetition to keep the ordinance allocating funds to municipal-level cam-
off the city council agenda. Now they paigns. Localities in at least five other The ACLU and its affiliates in all 50 states,
are reaching out to TAAN for guidance states including Arkansas, Indiana, New Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C., are
on city council messaging and strategy. Mexico, New York, and Ohio have already fighting to protect abortion access from
“Right now this [multi-state work] passed anti-abortion ordinances similar multiple angles in a swiftly changing and
is an extension of TAAN. Not only to the ones seen in Texas, while states like hostile local and federal landscape. As
do we have the ACLU of Florida and Florida are just beginning to navigate state bans like S.B. 8 and anti-abortion
Planned Parenthoods reaching out to us them. Battling the onslaught of copycat ordinances spread across the country,
because we work so closely with them ordinances will take significant legal and the ACLU has blocked (or continues to
and they’re partners, but we also have grassroots organizing firepower. “I think block) more than 20 of them, including
The Future In December, the
Supreme Court heard oral
seemed quite ready to
overturn Roe v. Wade in
see Roe v. Wade overturned.
They want people to have Activists rally outside the unnecessary Food and Drug Administra- The road ahead is fraught, but there
of Roe arguments in Dobbs v. whole. To basically say access to abortion that is Supreme Court on December 1,
when the Center for Reproductive
tion (FDA) policy that requires patients is reason to hope. The ACLU with its
Jackson Women’s Health there is no right to abortion, safe, that is accessible.” The Rights argued a case on to pick up medication abortion in person nationwide presence will continue to
Organization, a Mississippi period. It is left to the Women’s Health Protection behalf of a Mississippi abortion at a hospital or clinic, despite the health fight to bolster state constitutional rights
case that challenges the states,” says ACLU National Act (WHPA)—historic provider, challenging risks during a pandemic. Previously, it to abortion, advance ballot initiatives
the state’s 15-week ban.
state’s 15-week abortion Legal Director David D. Cole. legislation that would create was the only drug required by the FDA that expand access to abortion, lobby to
ban. The state of Mississippi “It will mean an incredible federal protection for to be dispensed in clinical settings while pass state protections for reproductive
asked the court to overturn amount of work going abortion—passed the U.S. outright bans; laws that would eliminate permitting patients to self-administer rights, and ensure everyone has access to
P H OTO G R A P H BY K E N T N I S H I M U R A / LOS A N G E L ES T I M ES V I A G E T T Y I M AG ES
nearly 50 years of legal forward to protect and House of Representatives abortion between 14 and 20 weeks; laws it at home. The lawsuit led to the FDA the ballot to elect candidates who protect
precedent—a federal defend the right in each in September. With Roe at banning abortions when the patient’s suspending the in-person dispensing abortion rights in their communities.
constitutional right to state. But we’ll be fighting.” grave risk, it’s now urgent for reason is based on a fetal diagnosis; and requirements and has already helped Grassroots advocates like Blair Wal-
abortion—established by “[Mississippi wants] the Senate to follow suit. parental consent laws that could jeop- transform the way medication abortion lace will continue expanding TAAN and
Roe v. Wade. And it appears to give every state in the A federal law would make ardize young people’s health and safety. is obtained in the United States. its training program across Texas and
the conservative members nation the ability to prevent state abortion restrictions In October, the ACLU argued before the Following extensive advocacy and beyond. Community organizers like
of the court may grant the women from getting the unlawful, thus allowing Supreme Court in a case challenging litigation from the ACLU, the FDA Maria Cordero will continue arming
state its request or severely care they need and force medical providers to offer a Kentucky law that would effectively also agreed to a full review of all fed- immigrant communities with knowl-
weaken Roe’s protections. them to stay pregnant and safe, quality care. It would ban abortion after 15 weeks. The ruling eral rules on medication abortion. edge of their constitutional rights. City
A decision in the case is to have children against their protect the constitutional could have significant repercussions for In December, the agency announced experts and strategists like Heidi Ger-
expected at the end of June. will,” says Jennifer Dalven, rights of all people, no matter access to abortion in Kentucky and the the permanent repeal of its restric- bracht will continue to illuminate and
If the court overturns director of the ACLU’s where they live. surrounding region. tions requiring in-person dispensing, solve unique municipal challenges. And
or guts Roe, 26 states Reproductive Freedom In addition to the critical work block- expanding abortion access for hun- millions of activists like Kim Gonzalez
are certain or likely to ban Project. “We know that the Visit aclu.org/whpa and ing state abortion restrictions, the ACLU dreds of thousands more people across will continue to be ready for battle—
abortion. “At least five vast majority of people in urge your senators to pass is expanding access to medication abor- the U.S.—particularly low-income sounding the alarm when it’s time to
members of the court this country do not want to the WHPA today. tion nationwide. In 2020, the ACLU people, people of color, and those who mobilize. As Cordero says, “You can’t
successfully challenged the medically live in rural and isolated areas. stop the power from the community.”
22 ACLU Magazine Spring 2022 23You can also read
