Pregnancy Justice's Work

Read About All of Our Legal Advocacy, Public Education, and Organizing Work

Pregnancy Justice Releases First-Ever Annual Impact Report

For immediate release
Contact: media@pregnancyjusticeus.org

NEW YORK — Today, Pregnancy Justice shared its first-ever annual impact report, highlighting a year of legal wins for people facing pregnancy-related criminal charges, the successful training of thousands of professionals on how to confront and reject pregnancy criminalization, the release of groundbreaking reports that moved the needle, and much more — even amid the loss of Roe.

An Announcement From Founder and Executive Director Lynn Paltrow

For immediate release
Contact: media@pregnancyjusticeus.org

NEW YORK — Today, founder Lynn Paltrow announced that she will be stepping down from the Executive Director role at Pregnancy Justice (formerly National Advocates for Pregnant Women) at the end of her sabbatical in May 2023.

She is working with the board and the staff to ensure a smooth transition, one that will occur with the benefit of Acting Executive Director Dana Sussman's leadership.

Pregnancy Justice Secures Release of 9 Pregnant or Postpartum Women From Alabama Jail and a Policy Change

For immediate release (updated October 2022)
Contact: media@pregnancyjusticeus.org

NEW YORK — After Pregnancy Justice learned that the Etowah County, Alabama, District Attorney was imposing unconstitutional bond conditions on all pregnant women and new mothers charged with "chemical endangerment of a child" and filed habeas petitions on behalf of two clients, a new policy is now in effect that will result in fewer indefinite and unlawful detentions.

Who Do Fetal Homicide Laws Protect? An Analysis for a Post-Roe America

After the 1973 Roe decision, anti-abortion groups responded with a strategic plan to reverse the decision and recriminalize abortion through laws that seek to codify the belief that life begins at conception. Some of these criminal statutes create a new crime for causing a pregnancy loss by injuring a pregnant person, and others expand the definitions of "person" or "another" to include zygotes, embryos, and fetuses under existing criminal codes for murder, manslaughter, or related charges.

When Fetuses Gain Personhood: Understanding the Impact on IVF, Contraception, Medical Treatment, Criminal Law, Child Support, and Beyond

After suffering setbacks, the fetal personhood movement has gained support. The theory of a fetus as a legal person has become the framework of anti-abortion states and was highlighted in Justice Alito's majority opinion in Dobbs, creating a path for a fetal right to life argument under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Pregnancy Justice Submits Testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Impact of the Dobbs Decision

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.

Confronting Pregnancy Criminalization: A Practical Guide for Healthcare Providers, Lawyers, Medical Examiners, Child Welfare Workers, and Policymakers

For decades, pregnant people across America have been subjected to criminalization and deprivations of liberty on the basis of pregnancy or pregnancy outcomes. Women have been targeted by police and prosecutors, healthcare providers, child welfare workers, and judges who have sought to deprive them of their constitutional rights in the name of "fetal personhood.