Women's Law Project

Safeguarding Rights, Creating Opportunities.

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Pittsburgh City Council: UPMC Must Enter Community Benefits Agreement Before Building Expansion

Pittsburgh City Council: UPMC Must Enter Community Benefits Agreement Before Building Expansion

UPMC is the biggest private employer in Pittsburgh (Photo: Brian Donovan, via Flickr CC)

  On Tuesday, Pittsburgh City Council held a hearing on University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s proposed $2 billion expansion plan. Approximately 160 people registered to speak, and even more community members attended.

The hearing was held to give community members an opportunity to express their concerns…

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Victory: Anti-Abortion Radicals Denied Request for Personal Information of Abortion Providers & Staff

Victory: Anti-Abortion Radicals Denied Request for Personal Information of Abortion Providers & Staff

The anti-choice movement has a long history of attempting to collect personal information of people who work at healthcare facilities that provide abortion care, as well as information on patients. Their tactics include scraping identifying information from state licensure records obtained through right-to-know laws.

Attorneys at the Women’s Law Project just helped thwart an effort to do this in…

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Good News: “$1 Per Touch” Judge Will Not Preside Over Domestic Violence Hearings

Good News: “$1 Per Touch” Judge Will Not Preside Over Domestic Violence Hearings

Judge Lester Nauhaus

In late June, a group of women’s organizations in Pittsburgh including the Women’s Law Project sent a letter to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas protesting the appointment of Senior Judge Lester Nauhaus to preside over protection from abuse (PFA) contempt hearings.

Judge Nauhaus is an Allegheny County Common Pleas Court judge with a history of making controversial…

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A Victory of Sorts: Allegheny County Police Will Stop Criminalizing Condoms

A Victory of Sorts: Allegheny County Police Will Stop Criminalizing Condoms

We recently told you that Allegheny County police were abusing their authority when making prostitution arrests by adding on a “possession of instruments of crime” charge if the alleged sex worker possessed condoms.

Criminalizing condoms defies public health recommendations to use condoms to prevent unplanned pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted infections.

In practice, criminalizing…

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On Today’s U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Regarding “Crisis Pregnancy Centers”

On Today’s U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Regarding “Crisis Pregnancy Centers”

In 2015, California passed the Reproductive FACT Act, requiring licensed “crisis pregnancy centers” that provide services such as pregnancy tests and ultrasounds to post information about affordable abortion and contraception services offered by the state. The second provision required unlicensed facilities that provide these services to disclose their lack of medical certification.

California-b…

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Full Opinion Issued in Boyertown Case Protecting Transgender Rights

Full Opinion Issued in Boyertown Case Protecting Transgender Rights

We recently told you how thrilling it was to be at the federal courthouse to witness a landmark victory for transgender rights.

In late May, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a lower court’s ruling that upheld a Pennsylvania school district’s policy that permits transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity.

Court…

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Five Ways to Fight Family Separation From Right Here in Pennsylvania

Five Ways to Fight Family Separation From Right Here in Pennsylvania

“On the afternoon of their second day in detention, two male agents entered the cell. “They didn’t say anything,” Rivera told me. “They just walked over and grabbed Jairo. It felt like my son was stuck to me. He clung to me, cried and screamed. They had to pull him away.” She pleaded with the agents to tell her what was going on. The other women in the cell were too stunned to speak, Rivera told…

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More Studies on Sexual Harassment in PA is Welcome, But Shouldn’t Delay Action

More Studies on Sexual Harassment in PA is Welcome, But Shouldn’t Delay Action

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives adopted two new resolutions to study and monitor sexual harassment in the workplace in Pennsylvania.

The first resolution will establish a Task Force on Harassment and Sexual Misconduct in the Workplace. The taskforce will be responsible for conducting a comprehensive review to unearth any inadequacies in current laws, regulations and policies…

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Allegheny County Police are Arresting Sex Workers for Possessing Condoms

Allegheny County Police are Arresting Sex Workers for Possessing Condoms

Pennsylvania law classifies possessing an instrument of crime as a misdemeanor.

“Instruments of crime” generally refers to carrying a concealed firearm or other weapon with the intention to employ said weapon for criminal purposes. It also applies to unlawful body armor.

In Pittsburgh, Allegheny County police have been arresting sex workers found to possess condoms by classifying the condoms as…

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WLP Testified in Opposition to HB 861, Preemption of Local Labor Protections

WLP Testified in Opposition to HB 861, Preemption of Local Labor Protections

Today, WLP Staff Attorney Amal M. Bass testified in opposition to House Bill 861 (preemption of local laws protecting workers) before the Pennsylvania House Labor & Industry Committee. The Women’s Law Project strongly opposes HB 861, which is sponsored by Rep. Seth Groves of York County.

You can read Amal’s testimony in full here.

What is Preemption?

Preemption bills like HB 861 prohibit local…

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Action Alert: Tell Your State Rep to Reject Rep. Turzai’s Attempt to Sabotage Help for Sexually Exploited Children  

As reported yesterday, Speaker of the House Mike Turzai is willing to sink a “safe harbor” bill designed to decriminalize and assist sexually exploited children just so he can use the Legislature to once again express his personal disapproval of Pennsylvania families who seek abortion care.

In this case, he’s targeting families in medical crisis who choose to terminate a pregnancy in the wake of…

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Fighting the Criminalization of Pregnancy in Pennsylvania

Fighting the Criminalization of Pregnancy in Pennsylvania

Relentless attacks on reproductive rights are colliding with the opioid epidemic in ways that seriously threaten both civil rights and public health.

Attorneys at the Women’s Law Project just authored and filed an amicus (“friend-of-the-court”) brief in Commonwealth v. Dischman, a case in which the defendant was charged with a first-degree felony after she overdosed on opioids while pregnant. We…

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June at the Women's Law Project

June at the Women’s Law Project

We took a short break from sending a monthly newsletter, but now we’re back. There’s a lot going on, and we want to make sure you have every opportunity to stay up to date on our work and what’s happening in women’s and worker’s rights in Pennsylvania.

We’ve been fighting unconstitutional abortion bans in the state Legislature, and analyzing Trump’s attack on Title X, the only federal funding…

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Action Alert: Stop PA From Cutting the Safety Net for Women Recovering from Addiction  

The Women’s Law Project strongly opposes House Bill 129, legislation that would impose a lifetime ban on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) assistance for any Pennsylvanian with an addiction that led to a drug-related felony conviction or guilty plea.

TANF is designed to help needy families achieve self-sufficiency. Approximately 90% of the adults who receive TANF are women.

The…

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City of Philadelphia Still Fighting The Chamber of Commerce’s Effort to Block Equal Pay Law

City of Philadelphia Still Fighting The Chamber of Commerce’s Effort to Block Equal Pay Law

Both the City of Philadelphia and the Chamber of Commerce are appealing a federal judge’s recent ruling on a prior-wage equal pay ordinance signed into law by Mayor Jim Kenney in January 2017.

As we told you back in early May, a U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued an order granting in part and denying in part a motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to…

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WLP Analysis: U.S. Supreme Court Guts Workers’ Rights

WLP Analysis: U.S. Supreme Court Guts Workers’ Rights

In Epic Systems Corp v. Lewis, a 5-4 decision issued on May 21, 2018 (PDF), the United States Supreme Court held that employer-imposed mandatory arbitration clauses that prevent employees from filing class actions in court are enforceable.

This decision, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, eviscerates the rights of countless employees whose employers have forced them to sign mandatory arbitration…

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Victory: Third Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Rights of Transgender Students

Victory: Third Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Rights of Transgender Students

This afternoon, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a lower court’s ruling that upheld a Pennsylvania school district’s policy that permits transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity.

Court observers had the opportunity to witness a rare spectacle. Rather than take weeks or months to issue an opinion after arguments, the…

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