CDT-Led Coalition of 50+ Rights Groups Urges White House to Ensure Federal Support for Local Police Isn’t Used for Abortion Investigations & Prosecutions

December 8, 2022

(WASHINGTON)–Today, a broad coalition of 54 civil and human rights, civil liberties, and reproductive rights organizations led by CDT published a letter urging the Biden Administration to ensure that the support that federal law enforcement agencies provide to state and local police is not used to investigate and prosecute abortions.

Jake Laperruque, CDT Deputy Director of the Security and Surveillance Project, says:

“The Administration cannot shield reproductive rights with one hand, and give local police assistance with surveillance used to enforce abortion bans with the other.

We strongly call on the Administration to follow through on its commitment to reproductive rights by ensuring federal investigative support for police cannot be used to investigate and prosecute abortion.”

The federal government provides significant surveillance and investigative assistance to state and local police, such as facilitating demands for communications records, helping submit applications for geofence warrants, breaking into data encrypted on cell phones and computers, and reformatting seized digital records.

This year, CDT explained in a four-part series how these powerful forms of surveillance support local police work, and how, going forward, they could be used to investigate and prosecute reproductive health choices in states that ban abortion.

Now, this coalition is pressing the Administration to follow through on its commitment to reproductive rights by ensuring federal aid to state and local law enforcement is not co-opted for abortion surveillance.

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CDT is a 27-year-old 501(c)3 nonpartisan nonprofit organization that fights to put democracy and human rights at the center of the digital revolution. It works to promote democratic values by shaping technology policy and architecture, with a focus on equity and justice.