American Civil Liberties Union

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) conserves America's original civic values working in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in the United States by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

US Supreme Court strikes down gene patent

Jun 132013

Features

Court rules that patents on human genes are invalid.

from the American Civil Liberties Union

WASHINGTON DC, June 13, 2013 — The US Supreme Court today unanimously invalidated patents on two genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) on behalf of researchers, genetic counselors, patients, breast cancer and women's health groups, and medical professional associations representing 150,000 geneticists, pathologists, and laboratory professionals.

Debtors’ prisons in Ohio

Apr 042013

USA watch

Investigation into 11 Ohio counties finds seven are illegally jailing people for inability to pay fines.

from the American Civil Liberties Union

CLEVELAND, April 4, 2013 — The US Constitution and Ohio state law prohibit courts from jailing people for being too poor to pay their legal fines, but in several Ohio counties, local courts are doing it anyway. The ACLU of Ohio today released The Outskirts of Hope, a report that chronicles a nearly yearlong investigation into Ohio’s debtors’ prisons and tells the stories of six Ohioans whose lives have been damaged by debtors’ prison practices.

US court strikes down DOMA, heightens scrutiny on gay cases

Oct 182012

News blog

Federal Appeals Court declares “Defense of Marriage Act” unconstitutional.

from the American Civil Liberties Union

NEW YORK, October 18, 2012 — A federal appeals court ruled today that the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) unconstitutionally discriminates against married same-sex couples.

In striking down DOMA, the court held that government discrimination against lesbians and gay men now is assumed to be unconstitutional and that DOMA’s defenders could not offer any good reason for treating married same-sex couples differently from all other married couples.