We submitted written testimony at the request of the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of their July, 2022 hearing, "A Post-Roe America: The Legal Consequences of the Dobbs Decision." Our testimony covers the devastating impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.

Note: this bill failed in committee. A Louisiana abortion ban containing language that would have allowed pregnant women to be charged with homicide in relation to their own pregnancy outcomes, including abortion, is expected to be amended to remove such language after opposition from House Republicans and the state's governor.

Pregnancy Justice Staff Attorney Samantha Lee testified in support of a California bill that will ensure that no one in the State of California will be prosecuted for ending a pregnancy or experiencing pregnancy loss. In her testimony, Ms. Lee shared a statement from Pregnancy Justice's client, Chelsea Becker, who was charged with murder for experiencing a stillbirth in Kings County, California.

Download PDF of testimony in support of HB 0626, Pregnant Person's Freedom Act

Download PDF of testimony in support of HB 1135, Perinatal Care: Drug and Alcohol Testing and Screening Consent

Testimony of Pregnancy Justice in Support of HB 0626, Pregnant Person’s Freedom Act

Pregnancy Justice respectfully submits this written testimony in support of HB 0626, a bill that protects pregnant people from criminalization related to pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriages, stillbirths, and abortions.

Pregnancy Justice is a non-partisan legal advocacy organization dedicated to the welfare of pregnant people and their families. Our testimony draws on over 20 years of experience on cases in which state actors arrested and prosecuted pregnant or postpartum women for experiencing pregnancy losses or engaging in acts or omissions that posed some imagined risk of harm to a fetus.

Pregnancy Justice has submitted written testimony opposing two bills in Wyoming, both of which would criminalize substance abuse during pregnancy. Read more for details on each bill and the reasons behind our opposition.

Download PDF version of testimony opposing HB0085.

Download PDF version of testimony opposing SF0089.

Testimony in Opposition to HB0085, "Child endangering-controlled substance use while pregnant"

Thank you for the opportunity to submit this testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee of the Wyoming Senate.

On behalf of Pregnancy Justice, we respectfully submit this written testimony in opposition to Senate Bill 216. We are a non-partisan legal advocacy organization dedicated to the welfare of pregnant people and their families. Our testimony draws on over 20 years of work on cases in which state actors intervened in a pregnant woman’s medical decision-making or punished a pregnant or postpartum woman and her family on the basis of something she may have or may not have done while pregnant.

On January 24, 2022, Pregnancy Justice submitted written testimony in opposition to South Carolina’s proposed abortion ban, S.988. The so-called “Equal Protection for Unborn Babies Act” is a trigger ban, meaning it would go into effect immediately if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, in part or whole.

Remarks by Samantha Lee, Staff Attorney, as part of Attorney General Rob Bonta's press conference on 1/6/2022.

Thank you, Attorney General Bonta. My name is Samantha Lee and I am a staff attorney at Pregnancy Justice.

As an organization dedicated to advancing the civil and human rights of all people capable of pregnancy, Pregnancy Justice is honored to stand with Attorney General Bonta in support of this legal alert instructing district attorneys, police chiefs, and county sheriffs in California not to misuse the state’s murder statute to criminalize people for their pregnancy outcomes.

April 03, 2019

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