The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) is a global legal
advocacy organization
Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
that seeks to advance
reproductive rights
Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows:
Reproductive rights rest o ...
, such as
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
. The organization's stated mission is to "use the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right that all governments are legally obligated to protect, respect, and fulfill." Founded by
Janet Benshoof in 1992, its original name was the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy.
The Center for Reproductive Rights is headquartered in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The Center continually monitors the treatment of reproductive rights in various media in the U.S. and abroad.
CharityWatch
CharityWatch, formerly known as the American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Chicago, created in the United States by Daniel Borochoff in 1992, to provide information about charities' financial efficiency ...
rates the Center for Reproductive Rights "B+".
History
In July 2011, the CRR filed suit against the state of North Dakota over a state law that would ban all medical abortions. In July 2013, the CRR, along with the
Red River Women's Clinic, filed a lawsuit against the enactment of
so-called "fetal heartbeat", genetic, and sex selection restrictions on abortions. In September 2013, a federal judge dismissed the genetic and sex selection parts of the lawsuit without prejudice.
In 2011 the CRR joined with the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
(ACLU) and
Planned Parenthood to challenge a law passed which requires women to get an ultrasound four hours before an abortion. In addition, it requires the doctor to put the ultrasound image within the view of the woman and describe it. The plaintiffs have called it an "ideological message," and a violation of the First Amendment. And since the patient is not actually required to listen to what the doctor describes and can even choose to wear blinders and headphones, the plaintiffs went on to call it a "farce."
After suing the Obama administration over the restricted access to
birth control, in June 2013 the U.S. Department of Justice ordered that the Obama administration make all forms of emergency contraception available over the counter and without an age restriction.
In recent years, CRR has been one of three primary groups challenging increased state level restrictions to reproductive health and abortion care. In May, the CRR and the ACLU jointly filed suit against a 12-week abortion ban in Arkansas. In June the CRR filed a lawsuit against the state of Kansas to block HB 2253 stating that the abortion restrictions it imposed are unconstitutional. In August a coalition of groups, including the CRR, filed suit in Oklahoma to block enforcement of a law that restricts access to emergency contraception, stating that the law is unconstitutional. In August a federal judge blocked the law from going into effect.
In November 2015, the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
agreed to review stringent restrictions enacted into law by abortion opponents in Texas. Upon coming into force the laws would leave Texas, a state with a population of 27 million, served by only ten clinics, 34 less than the number in service before the laws were enacted. The appeal, handled by the CRR, is U.S. Supreme Court docket number 16-274, ''
Whole Woman's Health v. Cole.'' It is the first case that the high court has accepted scrutinizing abortion restriction since 2007.
In 2016 the CRR expanded its international program, including the launch of an international litigation campaign that has included the first
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
case decided by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
Human Rights Committee and the first case to frame preventable maternal deaths as a
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
violation.
See also
* ''
Center for Reproductive Law & Policy v. Bush''
References
{{Authority control
Human rights organizations based in the United States
Reproductive rights organizations
Non-profit organizations based in New York City
Abortion-rights organizations in the United States
1992 establishments in New York City