Our Issues
ACLU and Women’s Health Groups File Lawsuit to Protect Vital Health Services in Oklahoma
3.29.12
OKLAHOMA CITY – A lawsuit was filed today on behalf of six Oklahoma voters – including women’s health providers– against an Oklahoma ballot initiative that would ban vital health services by granting fertilized eggs and embryos the same constitutional rights as people. The voters are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Oklahoma and the Center for Reproductive Rights.
“By their own admission, the proponents of this initiative aim to strip women and families of their established right to decide whether and when to become pregnant and carry a pregnancy to term,” said Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director of the ACLU of Oklahoma. “This initiative insults Oklahoma women’s intelligence and dignity by denying access to basic health services.” If passed, the initiative would outlaw many critical reproductive health services, including all abortion care, commonly used forms of birth control, in vitro fertilization and treatment for ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages.
“It’s been nearly four decades since the Supreme Court ruled that women have the right to safe, legal abortion services,” said Talcott Camp, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. “Yet state legislatures continue to attack that right through dangerous, outrageous initiatives such as this one. This is unacceptable. We More >
ACLU of OK Stands Up to Efforts to Discriminate Against Gay & Lesbian National Guard Soldiers
1.10.12
Today, the ACLU of Oklahoma is calling on the Speaker of the House to send a clear signal that HB 2195 is dead on arrival and that the House will not waste a single minute considering the politically motivated act of a single legislator, and instead, will stand with the brave men and women of the Oklahoma National Guard, regardless of their sexual orientation.
In addition to potentially jeopardizing federal funding, this legislation distracts our legislature from efforts that truly support our troops by ensuring that when they return from service they will find a strong economy, educational opportunities, and affordable health care awaiting them.
A similar measure was proposed in Virgina last session. That bill died in subcommittee after the Attorney General, a socially conservative Republican, noted that, if it passed, the federal government could and probably would withhold federal funding for the VA Guard. Other policy makers highlighted that More >
ACLU Says Denial of Clemency for Troy Davis Exemplifies Death Penalty’s Systemic Injustices
9.20.11
Execution in Face of Serious Doubts Unconscionable and Unconstitutional
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: (212) 549-2666;media@aclu.org
ATLANTA – The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles today denied clemency to Troy Davis, despite serious concerns that he was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer in 1989.
“The refusal today by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant Troy Davis clemency underscores the vast systemic injustices that plague our death penalty system,” said Denny LeBoeuf, director of the ACLU Capital Punishment Project. “No innocent person should ever be put to death, and it is unconscionable and unconstitutional to carry out an execution where, as in Troy’s case, significant doubts exist. The death penalty system in the United States is arbitrary, discriminatory and comes at an enormous cost to taxpayers, and it must be ended.”
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ACLU of Oklahoma and CAIR to Ask Appeals Court Monday to Uphold Ruling
9.8.11
ACLU of Oklahoma and CAIR to Ask Appeals Court Monday to Uphold Ruling Blocking Implementation of Oklahoma Ban on Sharia and International Law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 8, 2011 CONTACT: Robyn Shepherd, ACLU national, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org DENVER – Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will present arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Monday, September 12 at 1:00 p.m. MDT to ask that the court uphold a ruling blocking implementation of a discriminatory and unnecessary Oklahoma state constitutional amendment that prohibits courts from applying – or even considering – what is broadly described as Islamic “Sharia law” and “international law.”
The measure, officially titled the “Save Our State Amendment,” was temporarily enjoined last year by a lower court for blatantly disfavoring an entire faith and denyingOklahoma’s Muslims access to the judicial system on the same terms as every other citizen. The ACLU and CAIR are seeking to have the amendment permanently struck down.
More information on the case is available at: www.aclu.org/religion-belief/muneer-awad-v-paul-ziriax-oklahoma-state-board-elections-et-al
WHAT: Arguments in appeal of lower court ruling blocking implementation of anOklahoma state constitutional amendment prohibiting courts from applying or considering Sharia law and international law.
WHO: Daniel Mach, director More >
Defending the Indefensible: Oklahoma Struggles to Salvage Its Unconstitutional Sharia Ban
9.13.11
Posted by Allie Shinn in Commentary
Last November, the federal district court rejected this attempt to use the state constitution to condone bigotry and blocked the amendment from taking effect. Yesterday, a federal appellate court in Denver heard arguments in the state’s appeal of that decision, but the state should fare no better this time around.
Click Here to Read the Entire Post at the ACLU’s Blog of Rights