Citizen Rights

Citizen Rights

Democratic government depends upon informed and active participation at all levels of government. Governmental bodies must protect the citizen’s right to know by giving adequate notice of proposed actions, holding open meetings, and making public records accessible.

Photo of Kathleen Montgomery
News

LWVUS Joins 25 International Organizations in Efforts to Protect Women’s Reproductive Rights Globally

By Kathleen Montgomery

LWVSC Alert: Committtees to hear bans in mid-August

Action Alerts

Both houses are moving forward with abortion bans. The League opposes the proposed bans in their entirety. Read our testimonies: 

PDF icon 8.16.2022 House Special Laws Subcommittee Testimony H.5399

PDF icon 8.17.2022 Senate Medical Affairs Committee Testimony S.1327, S.1373, S.1348

LWVSC Alert: Committtees to hear bans in mid-August

Action Alerts

During the week of August 15, committees in both Houses will hear abortion bills: 
 
Email all committee members NOW to #StopTheBansSC.
SCOTUS's Abortion Decision
Blog Post

On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court released its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning the constitutional right to abortion. In so doing, they turned back the clock, looking almost exclusively at reproductive rights from the lens of the mid-1800s and earlier to determine whether the Constitution confers a right to abortion.

Janice holding sunflower
Blog Post

Dear Members,
Let’s begin this message with some inspiration. Jay Rosenbek, co-chair of our Natural Resources Committee, has been accepted to serve on the Alachua County Environmental Protection Advisory Committee (EPAC).

LWVSC Action Alert

Action Alerts

House Bill H.5399 would ban all abortions in all circumstances. This bill threatens the rights and bodily autonomy of women —not only our moral agency and personal dignity but our lives. The 2021 “heartbeat” law should be repealed and further attempts to restrict abortion prior to viability should cease.

Email to #StopTheBansSC. PDF icon Read our testimony.

League members 6-24-2022 Rally at the State House
News

Supreme Court Strips Americans of Constitutional Right to Abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Decision
Court signals threat to marriage equality, contraception, and private intimacy
LWVUS Press Release / Last Updated: June 24, 2022
https://tinyurl.com/23bfhpzb
Explaining SCOTUS's Abortion Decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
LWVUS Blog / Last Updated: July 22, 2022
https://tinyurl.com/yc6yt6b4

Photos of Deborah Turner and Virginia Kase
Public Statement

"Today’s ruling strips women and those who may become pregnant of their bodily autonomy and will have devastating - and immediate - consequences across the country. While the Court’s opinion was expected, its harm is extreme and real...."

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