Source: United States Department of Justice News
Remarks as Delivered
Thank you, Stacey [Grigsby]. Good afternoon to everyone. Thank you to the White House Counsel and the Attorney General for bringing us all together today. I am grateful to work with an Attorney General who is deeply committed to the Justice Department’s efforts to defend reproductive freedom.
Dobbs was and is devastating for people and communities across the country. The Supreme Court took away a constitutional right, and in doing so, is preventing women from being able to make decisions about our bodies, our health and our futures. Dobbs and the actions of states in the aftermath of this decision have a disproportionate impact on people of limited financial means, on people of color and other vulnerable communities. These new, complex, widespread threats to reproductive health are both a gender and racial justice issue.
This is a challenging time — particularly for those of you here who have led this fight for so long, and who are on the frontlines working with those most harmed every day. I am inspired by all of you and by my colleagues at the Justice Department working day and night on these issues. Thank you for refusing to be complacent. That’s why we are all here today — because we want to act.
That need for action is why the department established the Reproductive Rights Task Force earlier this month, to formalize our ongoing work to protect reproductive freedom and prepare for the many challenges that lie ahead.
We brought together senior officials from across the department, who meet daily on our response to Dobbs. This week, we launched a website with information on the Task Force’s work and — importantly — information on how to contact the department, through the FBI, in the event of violence or actionable threats.
We are closely following the new and uncertain landscape of state laws and enforcement actions, and will bring or participate in litigation where they infringe on federal protections. We know there are many challenges still to come, as many state legislatures have not met since Dobbs. But we know there is also real fear over states criminalizing abortion already and misusing private data. We are looking at a number of issues, including the right to travel, denial of emergency medical care and preemption of state laws attempting to ban abortion medication.
We are advising federal agencies on legal issues that have arisen post-Dobbs and defending them in litigation, such as in Texas’s lawsuit against HHS over the agency’s recent guidance under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).
We’re supporting the Department’s ongoing work to enforce the FACE Act, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which establishes criminal and civil penalties for injuring, intimidating or interfering with a person seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services.
And we are coordinating technical assistance to states and to Congress because the single best way to protect reproductive freedom is through Congressional action.
Across all these lines of work, the department is treating this as the core civil rights and access to justice issue that it is. And as the legal landscape continues to grow more complex, we know that access to legal assistance will be critical for women and providers all over the country. The Justice Department’s newly reinvigorated Office for Access to Justice will support these efforts.
We’re all here today because we know we need to deploy legal assistance effectively, collaboratively and strategically. While there are many steps the Justice Department can take, there are areas where we can’t act, areas that are more appropriately addressed by the private bar and broader legal community. It will take all of us — government lawyers, private pro bono attorneys, bar associations, public interest organizations — to do all we can to protect access to reproductive health care and to provide vigorous legal representation of patients, providers and third parties in need.
We all know the incredible responsibility and power that we have as members of the legal profession. We have an obligation to support equal justice under law and an obligation to take action and rise to meet this moment together. And I know we will. Thank you.