Reproductive Rights
On July 12, 2022, the Department of Justice announced the establishment of the Reproductive Rights Task Force, formalizing the Department's ongoing work to protect reproductive freedom under federal law.
Among other responsibilities, the Task Force is monitoring and evaluating all state and local legislation, regulations, and enforcement actions that threaten to:
- Infringe on federal legal protections relating to the provision or pursuit of reproductive care;
- Impair women’s ability to seek reproductive care in states where it is legal;
- Impair individuals’ ability to inform and counsel each other about the reproductive care that is available in other states;
- Ban Mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy; or
- Impose criminal or civil liability on federal employees who provide reproductive health services in a manner authorized by federal law.
“Few rights are more central to individual freedom than the right to control one’s own body. The Justice Department will use every tool at our disposal to protect reproductive freedom.”
- Attorney General Merrick Garland