Abortion-rights attorneys help patients and providers navigate legal chaos
It’s been nearly one year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to terminate a pregnancy, followed by confusion and fear about contradictory state abortion laws and unresolved legal challenges. In this legal chaos emerged the Abortion Defense Network, which publicly launched in February and is trying to make providers and patients feel less alone.
The Impact of the Dobbs Decision
The Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health overturned the landmark 50-year-old Roe v. Wade case and erased a federal right to an abortion. “It’s just all really scary right now – I can hear it in people’s voices,” said Kylee Sunderlin, the legal support director for the nonprofit If/When/How. There’s a real sense that people are scared that if they share their pregnancy, or any information at all, that they are necessarily going to put someone else at legal risk, not just themselves.
Comprehensive Legal Support Services
The network is a one-stop shop for patients and loved ones, and providers and practical support groups. Working together, the reproductive rights groups in the network provide free legal advice, pro bono representation, and help paying legal expenses. “We believe this is a very robust system with serious legal and practical support that we are trying to get out to the community so that people who provide and support abortion care can continue to perform their vital services,” said Cassie Ehrenberg, senior counsel for pro bono initiatives for the Lawyering Project.
Primary Network Partners
The network's operations are managed by the Lawyering Project, and its five partners are:
- The American Civil Liberties Union
- The Center for Reproductive Rights
- If/When/How
- The National Women’s Law Center
- Resources for Abortion Delivery
In addition to these organizations, the network is supported by seven anchor law firms.
Rising Demand for Legal Assistance
Sunderlin said If/When/How transformed its Repro Legal Helpline in June 2020, from an informational helpline to one where people seeking abortions could be promptly connected to legal services. More staff were hired after Roe v. Wade fell in June 2022, when the helpline saw a massive spike in inquiries.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Increase in inquiries (June 2022) | 2,460% |
| Current monthly inquiry volume | Hundreds of calls |
| Core services provided | Free legal advice, pro bono representation, and legal expense support |
Ongoing Legal Challenges and Medication Abortion
The Supreme Court is once again about to make a consequential decision about medication abortion in the Texas-based Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration case, one of several federal cases related to the abortion drug mifepristone. “These federal rulings, particularly from the judge in Texas, it’s creating even more chaos and confusion for people who are seeking abortions,” said Sunderlin. A lot of the questions that helpline navigators are fielding these days are about the legal risks of seeing a health provider at all, whether it’s just to confirm the pregnancy or to seek care for complications of a self-managed medication abortion.