New Website Breaks Down How Courts Are Threatening Your Reproductive Rights

By Ayana Byrd Jul 21, 2020

One critical aspect of the care that Planned Parenthood provides doesn’t happen in the exam room, it happens in the courtroom. And in keeping with the healthcare provider’s focus on the power of the judiciary branch of government, Tuesday (July 21), it launched the interactive website Crisis in the Courts.

The site’s tagline explains in a nutshell why Planned Parenthood was moved to create it, reading: “No president in recent memory has done more to reshape the judiciary than Donald Trump—and it could set back reproductive health and rights for decades.”  

Per a press release from the organization:


Today, Planned Parenthood Federation of America launched an interactive website, “Crisis in the Courts,” and accompanying six-figure ad campaign, to spread awareness on how the Trump administration and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have remade the federal judiciary over the past four years and how reshaping the federal courts could set back reproductive health and rights for generations.


On the site, readers will find detailed information about how the courts—from the Supreme to the district level—are shaping the reality of reproductive rights for millions of Americans. It also breaks down how many judges have been appointed by the president, stating, “Nearly 1 in 3 judges in the courts of appeals is now a President Trump pick.”

Beyond Trump, it also details the role McConnell had in blocking Obama’s attempts to appoint judges, while now fast-tracking the current president’s nominees.

Crisis in the Courts does more than document the current judiciary landscape as it relates to reproductive rights. It also gives readers a chance to fight back alongside the organization by supporting its advocacy efforts. Says Anisha Singh, Planned Parenthood’s director of Judiciary and Democracy Affairs:


Every person who cares about protecting our civil and reproductive rights needs to care about how the Trump administration has remade the federal judiciary over the past four years. The Supreme Court is just the tip of the iceberg—the 200 federal judges who now have lifetime appointments will make decisions in cases that may roll back our health and rights for generations to come. The courts have for far too long been tools to uphold white supremacy and deny power to those without privilege, and it’s important that those who serve on the bench are dedicated to ensuring the freedoms of all. We hope this new website encourages more people to get involved in protecting our democracy and to fight back against the crisis in our courts.