Case Study
Defending Abortion Access in Our Nation's Courts
The American Civil Liberties Union
The Challenge
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, the anti-abortion camp revved up its campaign to strip people of their fundamental rights in new and even more harrowing ways. Anti-abortion extremists have not only succeeded in banning abortion fully in over 14 states, they are also quietly pushing cases through the lower courts that leave medicine and science to the wayside in favor of controlling people’s most personal health care decisions. Recently, two such cases made their way up to the U.S. Supreme Court — one that sought to ban medication abortion nationwide and another that would give states the ability to block emergency abortions even when the health and life of the pregnant patient is at risk.
To inform Americans about what was at stake and draw attention to this extreme overstep, the ACLU enlisted Fenton.
Our Approach
Fenton and the ACLU pursued an aggressive communications strategy to inform the public about the immense harm these cases would cause. We knew the radical Supreme Court would not affirm the rights of patients in their decisions unless people made it politically impossible for them to do otherwise. Through narrative shaping, journalist outreach, and sharp messaging, we made it clear that the medication abortion case was steeped in junk science and that the emergency abortion case would result in pregnant people dying without the health care they needed.
In addition, we continue to shine a spotlight on underreported legal challenges to abortion rights in states like Alabama, Nevada, Ohio and Texas, making it clear to the public where emerging threats are coming from and aiming to stop extremists in their tracks.
Impact
In the months leading up to Supreme Court decisions, marking the justices’ first decisions on abortion since they overturned Roe, Fenton ensured that ACLU lawyers were front and center denouncing these cases. We organized media briefings that were attended by over 50 top-tier national reporters, resulting in over 100 print, online, radio, progressive media, and affinity media stories as well a national narrative that highlighted the baseless claims of each case.
Due to this relentless advocacy and months of public pressure, the Supreme Court’s decisions ultimately affirmed the rights of patients, and justices cited evidence first reported by the ACLU and Fenton in their oral arguments. We continue to drum up public pressure around cases in the lower courts before they reach the Supreme Court. While we know that the fight is far from over — and the anti-abortion agenda is waiting in the wings for their next moment — we are proud of this progress and rolling up our sleeves for the next fight.
