Headlines
January 26, 2012
House of Delegates Subcommittee Votes to Remove Abortion Funding for Low-Income Women
Richmond, VA– Earlier today a House Health, Welfare and Institutions subcommittee voted in favor of House Bill 62, which repeals current Virginia law providing state funding for an abortion to low-income women when a doctor believes and certifies that the fetus would be born with a gross and totally incapacitating physical deformity or mental deficiency. “Today’s vote is both shameful and callous,” said Katherine Greenier, Director of the Patricia M. Arnold Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU of Virginia. “HB 62 denies low-income women access to safe care for no other reason than their poverty. No woman plans to have an abortion, but if she needs one, every woman deserves the opportunity to make the best decision for her circumstances. Women and their families should have access to safe and affordable health services, especially in a medical crisis.” read more »
January 23, 2012
Supreme Court Prohibits Warrantless Use of GPS Tracking Devices on Vehicles to Follow Citizens’ Movements
Richmond, VA–In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that police may not place GPS tracking devices on the cars of citizens with first obtaining a warrant. “When this often divided Supreme Court can come together and agree on such an important decision about protecting individual privacy, that’s cause for celebration,” said Kent Willis, Executive Director of the ACLU of Virginia. read more »
January 20, 2012
ACLU and EFF to Appeal Secrecy Ruling in Twitter/WikiLeaks Case
RICHMOND, Va. – Fighting to make public government efforts to obtain internet users’ private information without a warrant, today the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) plan to file an appeal in the legal battle over the records of several Twitter users in connection with the government’s WikiLeaks investigation. read more »
January 13, 2012
Judge Says Residency Requirement for Political Campaign Petition Circulators is Likely Unconstitutional
Richmond, VA–A Richmond federal judge wrote today that the Virginia law requiring that persons who circulate petitions for primary candidates be state residents is likely to be held unconstitutional. The law was challenged by Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry and three other candidates who were excluded from the Virginia Republican primary ballot when they did not collect the requisite number of signatures from voters. read more »
January 12, 2012
State Supreme Court Hears Arguments Opposing AG’s Attempt to Access Private Records of UVA Climate Scientist
Richmond, VA— The Virginia Supreme Court heard arguments today in Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s attempt to obtain the private communications of Michael Mann, a global warming expert once employed by the University of Virginia. “We hope the Virginia Supreme Court will take this opportunity to make a strong statement in support of academic freedom,” said ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis. “If the government is allowed to demand to see the private records of scholars, there will almost certainly be a great chilling effect on the kind of open debate and research we have grown to expect from our universities.” read more »
January 10, 2012
ACLU Files Brief in Support of Republican Party Primary Candidates in Virginia
Richmond, VA– The ACLU of Virginia today filed a brief in court in support of Texas Governor Rick Perry and three other Republican candidates who are asking a federal judge to order the State Board of Elections to put their names on the ballot for the Virginia Republican Party primary. The ACLU brief argues that the state violated the candidates’ rights when it prohibited them from using out-of-state petition circulators to gather the 10,000 signatures required for ballot access. read more »
Blog
Celebrate Roe by Speaking Up for Choice in Virginia
(1/23/2012) Yesterday marked the 39th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion and recognized that patients and their physicians are the best judges of which procedures are medically necessary. Celebrate Roe today by speaking out against attempts to destroy a woman’s right to choose in Virginia. read more »
Abused, Overused, and Rarely Discussed: Solitary Confinement in Virginia
(1/17/2012) Long neglected and rarely discussed, solitary confinement has recently become a topic in the media, and now three legislators have finally introduced a bill to investigate the practice in Virginia. Whether or not the bill will pass in 2012 is up in the air, but now that the issue has garnered some attention, it will at the very least be an important part of the legislative discussion this year. read more »
It’s a Tough Job and We’re Here to Do It
(01/11/2012) Legislators, old and new, convene today in Richmond for the 2012 Virginia General Assembly, and they will almost certainly make this session the most challenging in decades. That’s because a new crop of social conservatives swept into office in unprecedented numbers in November and is prepared to push through its agenda taking aim at reproductive freedom, religious liberty, and immigrants’ rights. read more »
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