Pro Bono Institute Signatory Showcase: Reproductive Equity Now Abortion Legal Hotline

Each year, the signatories to the PBI Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® and Corporate Pro Bono Challenge® initiatives provide important pro bono services to underserved, disadvantaged, and other individuals or groups unable to secure the legal assistance needed to address critical problems. This Showcase spotlights some of the amazing work signatories have done to serve those in need.

We spoke with Karen O’Malley, Co-Chair of Goulston & Storrs’ Pro Bono Committee about the Abortion Legal Hotline.

Can you tell us about this new project and why is so important?

Shortly after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, Reproductive Equity Now and the ACLU of Massachusetts, as part of the Beyond Roe Coalition, helped to draft and pass An Act Expanding Protections for Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Care. This law goes as far as we believe is constitutionally permissible to protect abortion providers and patients from the looming threat of criminal prosecution and lawsuits from extraterritorial jurisdiction. While this law provided some of the best protections in the nation, this is a new area of the law with complex risk-benefit analysis that required the legal community to act quickly to protect providers.

Click here to read the full interview on the Pro Bono Institute website.