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Lorie A. Chaiten, Esq.
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Ms. Chaiten has been the Director of the Reproductive Rights Project
for the Roger Baldwin Foundation of the ACLU of Illinois since June of
2001, but has been involved in reproductive rights litigation throughout
her 22-year legal career. The ACLU’s Reproductive Rights Project seeks,
through litigation, public education and legislative advocacy, to make
certain that all in our society have access to safe and effective
contraception, sexuality education, reproductive technologies, prenatal
care, childbearing assistance and safe, legal, and accessible abortion.
Ms. Chaiten has been involved in numerous court challenges to laws that
impede women’s access to abortion and other reproductive health care,
including the challenge to the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act
(Zbaraz v. Hartigan) and the challenge to the Federal Partial
Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 (National Abortion Federation v.
Gonzales). Other court challenges to restrictive abortion statutes
which she has pursued include the challenge to Illinois’ restrictive
abortion facilities licensing scheme (Ragsdale v. Turnock) and
the challenge to Illinois’ so-called “partial-birth abortion” ban (Hope
Clinic v. Ryan).
Ms. Chaiten also has played a leading role in numerous public advocacy
projects, including the Emergency Contraception Access Project and the
New Abortion Provider Initiative’s effort to expand access to medical
abortions in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa.
She serves on the steering committee of the Chicago Foundation For
Women’s Our Voices Our Choices coalition, is a member of the Board of
Directors of the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health and is a Steering
Committee Member for the Midwest Access Project. Prior to joining the
ACLU, Ms. Chaiten was a partner at the law firm of Sonnenschein Nath &
Rosenthal. Ms. Chaiten joined Sonnenschein in 1985 where her practice
focused on complex commercial litigation and reproductive rights
litigation.
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