Human Rights

Texas’ 6-week abortion ban takes effect with no Supreme Court intervention

The U.S. Supreme Court failed to take action on an emergency application to block Texas’ near-total ban on abortions, allowing the most restrictive abortion law in the country to go into effect Wednesday.

Sep 1, 2021 9:34 AM CDT

Abortion providers ask Supreme Court to block Texas heartbeat law from taking effect

Abortion providers asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to intervene after a federal appeals court over the weekend had stymied their attempts to stop a far-reaching Texas abortion law from going into effect.

Aug 30, 2021 3:14 PM CDT

Human rights violations at American Indian boarding schools must be investigated, ABA House says

The ABA House of Delegates voted Monday in favor of a resolution calling for an investigation into human rights abuses at American Indian boarding schools after the president of the Canadian Bar Association appeared in person to support the resolution.

Aug 10, 2021 9:30 AM CDT

ABA House votes to oppose laws that ban transgender student athletes

The House of Delegates weighed in on the ongoing national debate over transgender youth and sports at the ABA Hybrid Annual Meeting on Monday.

Aug 9, 2021 5:25 PM CDT

ABA Hybrid Annual Meeting convenes members online and in Chicago

The American Bar Association is hosting its first-ever hybrid annual meeting, which will bring together members for both virtual and in-person events in Chicago this week.

Aug 4, 2021 9:10 AM CDT

The ABA has advocated for people with HIV/AIDS for more than 30 years

While the American Bar Association has mobilized to help the public and profession during the COVID-19 pandemic, this is not the first time the association has addressed the challenge of a new and deadly virus. At the height of the United States’ AIDS epidemic, the ABA helped lead the charge to decrease discrimination against people who were infected with HIV.

Aug 1, 2021 12:20 AM CDT

Aug. 15, 1876: Congress passes the ‘Sell or Starve’ Act

Despite their historic victory at Little Bighorn in June 1876, the Sioux found little relief from the white onslaught. Accepting defeat, they returned to their reservations—unarmed and newly dependent on government rations. And on Aug. 15, 1876, Congress passed legislation that became known as the “Sell or Starve” Act, halting any aid to the Sioux until they relinquished both their hunting rights and their claim to the Black Hills.

Aug 1, 2021 12:05 AM CDT

Woman went to law school so she could help fight for her transgender daughter’s rights

Katie Jenifer decided someone had to fight for her transgender daughter and decided she was the person for the job.

Jul 29, 2021 9:13 AM CDT

Web designer who offers wedding websites can be compelled to serve same-sex couples, 10th Circuit says

A Colorado anti-discrimination law can be used to compel a website designer who wants to create wedding websites to offer her services to people celebrating same-sex marriages, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.

Jul 28, 2021 2:10 PM CDT

Guatemalan lawyer travels to remote areas, sometimes by foot, to help reunite separated families

Guatemalan human rights lawyer Eriberto Pop travels by car, motorcycle and foot to find parents separated from their children in the United States and deported without them under a controversial Trump administration program that has since been rescinded.

Jul 27, 2021 3:19 PM CDT

‘It’s time to pay the piper’: Ex-lawyer found guilty of criminal contempt in long-running Chevron battle

Disbarred human rights lawyer Steven Donziger was found guilty of criminal contempt Monday for refusing to comply with court orders in a long-running battle with the Chevron Corp. over pollution in Ecuador.

Jul 26, 2021 11:41 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Husch Blackwell merges with boutique firm; man sentenced for threat to Flynn judge

Husch Blackwell will merge with boutique firm Husch Blackwell has announced a merger with a health law boutique that represents hospitals and health care systems in the Boston area. The merger with Summit Health Law Partners gives Husch Blackwell offices in Boston and Providence, Rhode Island—its first offices in the…

Jul 20, 2021 3:39 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Boy Scouts of America agrees to $850M settlement; 1st Circuit rejects ERA suit

Boy Scouts of America strikes $850M deal The Boy Scouts of America has agreed to pay $850 million to settle sex abuse claims by about 60,000 people. The group says the deal could allow it to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late this year. But some insurers have raised…

Jul 2, 2021 4:10 PM CDT

SCOTUS lets stand victory by transgender man Gavin Grimm, former student who sued over bathroom policy

The U.S. Supreme Court has let stand a ruling that a Virginia school board violated the constitutional rights of Gavin Grimm, a transgender man and a former high school student, when it barred him from using the bathroom that matched his gender identity.

Jun 28, 2021 10:46 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: SCOTUS tosses child slavery case; DOJ drops suit and probe over Bolton book

SCOTUS tosses suit over child slavery in Ivory Coast The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Nestlé USA and Cargill can’t be sued here under the Alien Tort Statute for allegedly providing assistance to Ivory Coast cocoa farms that used child slaves. In an opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, the…

Jun 17, 2021 3:48 PM CDT