September 18, 2006                                           Support the Center now!

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD—CENTER TO LAUNCH WEBSITE FOCUSING ON LANDMARK CASE, GONZALES v. CARHART As you know, on November 8, the Center for Reproductive Rights will go before the Supreme Court to defend our successful challenge to the first federal abortion ban in U.S. history. The Center is armed with top-flight attorneys, an extraordinary depth of experience, and the confidence that we speak on behalf of you and many thousands of supporters. This is why the Center will be launching the Voice4Choice website: www.voice4choice.org This site will keep you informed about this groundbreaking case, help you mobilize your concerned friends, and empower you to join the battle to protect a woman's right to make her own healthcare decisions. We will email you as soon as the site goes live so that you can lend your voice to this historic challenge.

FDA STILL IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW On August 24th—three years after its own panel of experts ruled in favor of over-the-counter status—the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally agreed to make emergency contraception available without a prescription. But only for women 18 and older, and only behind the pharmacy counter. "The timing of the FDA's announcement is highly suspect," said Nancy Northup, President of the Center. Read more > >

SHADOW LETTERS SEE RESULTS AT UN The Center submitted shadow letters to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) highlighting violations of reproductive and sexual rights of women in China, Malaysia, Mexico, and the Philippines. The Committee recently released its Concluding Observations, calling attention to concerns the Center raised in our shadow letters. Read more > >

CENTER FILES BRIEF IN OUR SUPREME COURT CASE This fall, the Supreme Court will review the constitutionality of the first-ever federal abortion ban in the Center's case Gonzales v. Carhart. On August 10, the Center filed a brief outlining why the ban is unconstitutional. Our brief argues that the ban endangers women's health, places an undue burden upon women's right to choose, and outlaws some of the safest and most commonly used abortion procedures. Click here to read the brief > > (PDF)

NEPAL DRAFT CONSTITUTION RECOGNIZES REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS On September 1, for the first time in Nepal and in the entire region, the Nepalese government drafted an interim constitution that recognizes every woman's reproductive rights as fundamental. This came after Melissa Upreti, Legal Adviser for Asia, submitted recommendations to drafting committee members advocating for inclusion of reproductive rights in the text. Click here to read more > > (PDF)

TRAINING LAWYERS IN INDIA AND NEPAL The Center, in collaboration with local partners, conducted multi-day capacity-building trainings for lawyers in India and Nepal. The goal of the trainings, the first of their kind in the region, is to build lawyers' capacities for using litigation to advance reproductive rights in their own countries. Approximately forty lawyers traveled from various parts of India and Nepal to participate. Read more > >