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. The Task Force is chaired by Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer and led by Jodie Morse, Deputy Associate Attorney General, as Executive Director. In line with its whole-of-Department approach, the Task Force consists of senior officials and dedicated staff from across a dozen department components, including the Civil Division, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney community, Office of the Solicitor General, Office for Access to Justice, Office of Legal Counsel, Office of Legal Policy, Office of Legislative Affairs, Office of the Associate Attorney General, Office of the Deputy Attorney General, and Office of the Attorney General.
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