Reproductive Rights

DOJ Seal

“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 B. Garland
Read the full statement

Reproductive Rights Task Force

Associate Attorney General Gupta in front of US and DOJ flags

Associate Attorney General Gupta Announces Reproductive Rights Task Force

On July 12, 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 will monitor and evaluate 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.

Learn more about the Reproductive Rights Task Force.

Protecting Access to Reproductive Services

The Civil Rights Division enforces the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which prohibits anyone from obstructing access to reproductive health services through violence, threats of violence, or property damage.

The Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division leads the National Task Force On Violence Against Reproductive Health Care Providers. The Task Force coordinates national investigation and prosecution of violence against reproductive health care providers, patients, and facilities, collects and coordinates information regarding such incidents, makes security recommendations to enhance the safety of providers, assists U.S. Attorneys’ Offices investigating and prosecuting clinic violence, and helps train prosecutors and investigators to handle such cases.

If you have experienced violence, threats of violence, or property damage related to reproductive health services, please submit a report to the FBI Reporting System or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).

If you think that you are being discriminated against unlawfully in connection with reproductive health services or if your health information privacy rights have been violated, please submit a report to HHS.

Learn more about your reproductive rights at HHS.gov and at ReproductiveRights.gov

If you are in danger, call 911.

Implementing the Executive Order on Protecting Access to Reproductive Healthcare Services

The Department is taking steps to implement the President’s Executive Order on Protecting Access to Reproductive Healthcare Services. The Executive Order provides that:

The Attorney General shall provide technical assistance concerning Federal constitutional protections to States seeking to afford legal protection to out-of-State patients and providers who offer legal reproductive healthcare. Questions from States can be directed to IGL@usdoj.gov.
The Attorney General and the Counsel to the President shall convene a meeting of private pro bono attorneys, bar associations, and public interest organizations in order to encourage lawyers to represent and assist patients, providers, and third parties lawfully seeking these services throughout the country. Questions about this work can be directed to LAC@usdoj.gov.
The Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall consider actions to ensure the safety of patients, providers, and third parties, and to protect the security of clinics, pharmacies, and other entities providing, dispensing, or delivering reproductive and related healthcare services.