If you’ve never heard of Myriad Genetics, now might be the time to become acquainted. Myriad is a molecular diagnostic company, and they own part of your body. More specifically, they own patents on two human genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2, both of which are associated with inherited risk of breast and ovarian cancer. We all have these genes, but people with certain mutations are much more likely to experience cancer in their lifetimes.
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Each Friday, we’ll bring you updates on the latest civil liberties news from Maine and the nation.

Transgender Athletes: | continue reading

Your cell phone is tracking you.  We just can't say this enough at the ACLU. Everywhere you travel with a cell phone can be recorded and traced.  

What is happening right now:

Police use various methods to track cell phones.

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Back in November, I wrote about the ACLU of Maine’s education program and our standing offer to visit any school to present on the Bill of Rights. “No matter where your school is in the state of Maine we’ll come and teach there,” I said. Lately we’ve been putting those words to action – and logging some serious miles in the process.
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For those of us who are lucky enough to get to spend our first year or two after law school working for a judge, the experience invariably shapes our expectations about who a judge is and how she should go about her work. My judge set a high bar (clerks always use the possessive when referring to their bosses). | continue reading

It's Tuesday, but I'm still coming down from a very full weekend!

My partner Trish and I were busy attending the annual Equality Maine dinner, visiting with friends, sharing a birthday dinner with my brother in Boston and taking in a hockey game.

Somehow, we managed to find time to start planning our wedding. We spent almost a whole day looking at venues, thinking about a guest list, talking to a photographer and wondering whether or not the Supreme Court of the United States would overturn Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. 
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Remember the song "Walk Like An Egyptian" by the Bangles?  It topped the chart for four weeks back in 1986.  That's the last time our nation's electronic privacy laws were updated when the Electronic Communications Privacy Act was signed into law by then President Ronald Reagan.  In 1986, the cell phones that were available were far too small to fit in one's pocket.  Perhaps no one envisioned then that the cell phone itself and other electronic devices would become essentially miniature tracking units that most of us carry around with us everywhere we | continue reading

Each Friday, we’ll bring you updates on the latest civil liberties news from Maine and the nation.

Government Transparency:
Today, the ACLU and others told the Maine Legislature’s Transportation Committee that the public has a right to know about public-private transportation projects. Currently, information about public-private partnership projects are kept secret. A proposed law would change that. Read more here.
 
March Anti-Choice Madness: | continue reading