Americans United filed a lawsuit yesterday challenging multiple actions by the Trump-Pence administration—including back-room deals with the University of Notre Dame—that would deny countless women access to contraception.
The Supreme Court’s Masterpiece Cakeshop Ruling: What Really Happened
This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 7-2 decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The decision is a bit of an odd duck. The court repeatedly reaffirmed our nation’s commitment to combating discrimination against LGBTQ people in businesses open to the public. Yet the court holds in favor of a bakery that refused to bake a cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding.
Notre Dame’s Latest Decision Denies Students Their Right To Contraception
50th Anniversary Of Supreme Court Decision Reminds Us That Religious Freedom Is About Fairness
This week marks the 50th anniversary of Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, a landmark case in which the US Supreme Court held that a restaurant owner did not have a religious right to turn away black customers.
Michigan Case Brings Victory For Religious Freedom And Transgender Rights
A federal appeals court today issued a welcome decision in EEOC v. Harris Funeral Homes. The case involves a funeral home in Michigan whose owner fired an employee, Aimee Stephens, when she came out as transgender and announced that she would begin to wear women’s clothing. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued the business for unlawful employment discrimination.
In A Victory For The Women We Represented, Americans United Dismisses Challenge To Harmful Contraception Rules
Today, Americans United dismissed our lawsuit challenging harmful rules issued by the Trump administration in October 2017 that allow employers and universities to cite religious or moral objections in order to deny employees and students health insurance coverage of contraception. Although the rules still remain in effect, our plaintiffs will have access to birth control due to some fortuitous events.
A Federal Court Has Blocked Trump’s Regulations That Would Deny Countless Women Access To Birth Control
A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Friday blocked rules that the Trump administration issued last October that would allow any employer or university to use religion as an excuse to deny their employees and students health insurance coverage for birth control.
Opposing Viewpoints At The Atlantic’s LGBTQ Summit
Americans United lawyer Kelly Percival attended “Unfinished Business”—the LGBTQ summit hosted by The Atlantic in Washington, DC. The annual event is free to the public and seeks to showcase the current state of LGBTQ rights in the United States.
Court Hears Arguments About Transgender Employee Fired By Funeral Home
Justice Department Files Supreme Court Brief Supporting Bakery That Discriminated Against Same-Sex Couple
Court Says Secular Nonprofit Must Cover Birth Control
Today, in a win for women’s health, a federal appeals court issued an opinion in Real Alternatives v. Burwell that will ensure that employees at a secular, nonprofit organization continue to have access to contraception.
The Attacks On Contraception Coverage Keep Coming
Florist Asks U.S. Supreme Court To Reconsider Decision Holding That It Does Not Have The Right To Deny Services To Same-Sex Couples
Contraception Deception: Falsehoods The Trump Administration Relies On To Justify A Rule That Would Deny Millions Of Women Access To Essential Healthcare
We dive a little deeper into the Trump administration's new contraception coverage rule to expose the falsehoods that the administration is relying on in order to take away contraception coverage from millions of American women under the guise of religious freedom. As you’ll see, in its justification for the new rule, the Trump administration engages in a factual and legal analysis that ranges from misleading to flat-out false.
Trump Administration To Issue Unprecedented New Regulations That Would Let Bosses Deny Women Access To Contraception
Today, the Trump administration confirmed what was leaked yesterday: It plans to issue a new regulation that could result in millions of women across the country losing access to contraception and allow bosses to make personal health care decisions for their female employees.
Kentucky Judge Uses Religion As Excuse To Refuse To Hear Adoption Cases Involving LGBTQ Parents
Trump Administration Revokes Guidance On Civil Rights Protections For Transgender Students
Trump Administration Set To Withdraw Federal Guidance On Civil Rights Protections For Transgender Students
Last year, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice issued guidance reminding schools that Title IX prohibits discrimination against transgender students, including denying them access to the restrooms consistent with their gender identity. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos are expected to rescind this guidance.