News & Commentary

February 11th is a big day in mass surveillance. No, the government isn’t debuting round-the-clock aerial surveillance – although that could be coming soon. Rather, Tuesday is a big day because it’s a chance for us all to fight back against the idea that we should be watched and spied upon by our own government for no reason.

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

Researchers Dr. Gretchen Sisson and Dr. Katrina Kimport of Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) recently presented a study in which they identified and traced abortion-related story lines in American film and television since 1916. They found 310 pregnancy decision related story lines. Out of that 310, 173 (55.8%) pregnancies resulted in abortion, 80 (25,8%) in parenting, 13 (4.2%) in adoption, 21 (6.7%) in miscarriage, and 16 (5.1%) were unresolved. 13.5% of the story lines ended with the death of the woman who had considered an abortion, regardless of whether or not they actually had an abortion. Of that 13.5%, approximately half died from complications arising from the abortion.

In last night's State of the State address, Gov. LePage rightly addressed the growth of opiate abuse in Maine. There is no doubt that rapidly increasing heroin use is cause for concern and action. However, the governor's assertion that the answer should come in the form of more Drug Enforcement Agency agents, drug prosecutors and drug court judges is not the answer.

This Sunday, we received the sad news that acclaimed actor Philip Seymour Hoffman passed away in his New York apartment of an alleged drug overdose. Tragically he leaves behind a partner of fifteen year and their three children.

February is Black History Month and this year it carries some added weight due to a very special anniversary: It’s been 50 years since Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – a landmark moment in the struggle against discrimination and inequality.

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

In a victory for the privacy and dignity of transgender students, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court today ruled that a school district violated the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA) when it required a transgender girl to use a separate bathroom rather than the bathroom used by all other female students. The ACLU of Maine and the national ACLU LGBT Project filed an amicus brief in the case, arguing for the importance of protecting minorities from discrimination, especially in situations where there is public controversy.Said our legal director, Zach Heiden,

In 2008, the ACLU challenged the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA) — the surveillance law that gives the NSA virtually unfettered access to the international phone calls and emails of U.S. citizens and residents — on behalf of a coalition of human rights, media, labor, and legal organizations in Clapper v. Amnesty.  Last year, a divided Supreme Court held, 5 to 4, that the Amnesty plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the law because they couldn't prove that their communications had been monitored under it. That, of course, was before the world learned from Edward Snowden that the government was using the FAA exactly as the Amnesty plaintiffs had alleged.