2008 SUMMER INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY
NOTICE TO LAW STUDENTS
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
Reproductive Freedom Project, NY

Since its founding in the 1920s, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the nation’s foremost defender of individual rights, has fought to ensure that the decision whether or not to have a child be informed, meaningful, and protected from unwarranted government interference. The ACLU is particularly committed to ensuring that individuals’ reproductive rights are not compromised because of their race, youth, or economic status, and believes that reproductive rights work must be informed by broader racial and social justice considerations. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project works to protect access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care, from sexuality education and family planning services to prenatal care and childbearing assistance to abortion counseling and services.

For more than thirty years, the ACLU has been involved, in one way or another, with virtually every reproductive rights case to reach the Supreme Court, including Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, in which the Project was lead counsel. Current Project cases include constitutional challenges to bans on safe abortion procedures, suits against prisons that deny access to abortion, and cases to restore Medicaid coverage for abortions to ensure real choice for low-income women. In addition, Project lawyers defend women who are incarcerated for using drugs during their pregnancies; promote teens’ access to confidential reproductive health care; and work to ensure that young people receive comprehensive sex education. The Project is also the nation’s leading expert on the intersection between reproductive rights and the religion clauses of the First Amendment.

The Project is unique among reproductive rights organizations in that we work with the ACLU’s nationwide network of affiliates and other attorneys in the organization who specialize in other civil liberties areas, including free speech, race and poverty issues, and lesbian and gay rights.

INTERNSHIP OVERVIEW:
The Project seeks summer interns to work on active litigation. Working closely with Project staff, interns assist in all aspects of litigation including legal research, factual investigation, and drafting of memoranda, affidavits, and briefs. Knowledge of reproductive rights law is not required, but an interest in reproductive rights, civil liberties, racial and social justice, and issues affecting low-income women is essential.

Students are highly encouraged to seek Public Interest Fellowship funds for the internship. Summer interns who do not secure funding, or who receive less than $500 per week from alternative sources, will be eligible for a stipend provided by the ACLU for the amount of the differential. Arrangements can also be made with the student’s law school for work/study stipends.

HOW TO APPLY:
Applicants should send a letter of interest, a resume, the names and telephone numbers of two references, and a legal writing sample of five to ten pages to:

Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, Staff Attorney Fellow
ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project
125 Broad Street, 18^th Floor
New York, NY 10004-2400.

Applications by email will not be accepted.

We strongly encourage candidates to apply by January 31, 2008, but applications will be accepted until the internships are filled.

Please indicate in your cover letter where you found this job posting.

The ACLU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and encourages women, people of color, persons with disabilities, and lesbians and gay men to apply.