Reproductive Rights: Post-Dobbs Strategies, Counseling and Litigation Services

The United States Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade and the immediate influx of trigger laws and newly enacted laws barring abortion services in numerous states have raised complex legal issues and uncertainties not only for individuals, but also for corporations, small businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Arnold & Porter has extensive experience working on matters involving reproductive rights and reproductive healthcare with longtime partners like the Center of Reproductive Rights, the ACLU, Planned Parenthood and NARAL, as well as pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

The extent and breadth of our experience with issues around reproductive rights, access to reproductive healthcare and privacy uniquely positions our firm to advise clients as they navigate the rapidly changing landscape.

Our firm’s multi-disciplinary post-Dobbs working group is assessing developments to help companies, nonprofit organizations, healthcare providers, and individuals anticipate and address the wide range of evolving issues and potential risks, including:

• Antitrust considerations regarding communications among employers relating to potential reproductive health benefits being provided to employees
• State-by-state compliance
• Employee health benefits, including reproductive rights benefits and support for out-of-state travel
• Employment policies
• Legislative and public policy interests before state and federal legislatures and executive branches
• Regulation of medical devices, pharmaceuticals and drug delivery
• Healthcare regulatory and fraud and abuse compliance issues
• Criminal enforcement of abortion bans and restrictions, including aiding and abetting liability
• Privacy and data security issues, such as privacy-based restrictions on access to abortion-related information, and options for the use of digital technologies to further access to reproductive healthcare
• Structuring legally compliant charitable programs (and donations to such programs) relating to reproductive health services, potential provision of funding out-of-state travel benefits from states where that is permissible, and legal defense funds to assist doctors, patients and others facing criminal and other sanctions
• Litigation challenges to state bans, restrictions and regulations, and defensive and emergency litigation
• Crisis management