Top news stories and must-read articles.

Trump Administration announces new abortion restrictions

In an executive order this week, Trump instituted a series of changes to federal policies relating to abortion. These changes include barring the use of federal family planning money to educate women about abortion. This rule also takes away important funding from many clinics like Planned Parenthood.

ACLU, Planned Parenthood sue to stop ‘heartbeat law’

In another attack on women’s healthcare and rights, Iowa adopted a highly restrictive abortion law recently.  This bill has been dubbed the ‘heart beat law’ because it bans abortion after 6 week - around the time doctors can hear a heartbeat. This week, the ACLU of Iowa and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit to try to stop this harmful bill from taking effect.

Senate confirms Gina Haspel to CIA

Gina Haspel, the controversial CIA operative who oversaw torture programs at black sights, was confirmed to the role of CIA director this week. Concerns over Haspel’s involvement with torture programs did not stop the Senate from confirming her to the position with a slim majority.

THE ACLU’S TAKE

Prison population drops again in 2017, but not in Maine

The number of people incarcerated in the United States has dropped to the lowest number since 2004, but Maine had more incarcerated people than ever before. This follows a trend of a declining prison population set in motion during the Obama administration. However, with just under 1.5 million people still incarcerated, there are still massive issues with the American criminal justice system.