Fall 2013 Internship-ACLUF Reproductive Freedom Project, NY

For more than 93 years, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (ACLU), has been at the forefront of virtually every major battle for civil liberties and equal justice in this country.  Principled and nonpartisan, the ACLU has offices in all 50 states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, and brings together the country’s largest team of public interest lawyers, lobbyists, communication strategists, members and activists in the advancement of equality, fairness, and freedom, especially for the most vulnerable in our society.

The Reproductive Freedom Program (RFP) of the ACLU National Office in New York City invites applicants for its fall 2013 Internship, which will begin in September 2013.

The mission of the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project (The Project) is to secure a world that respects and supports everyone’s right to form intimate relationships and to decide whether and when to have a child.  Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, the Project strives to ensure that the freedoms and opportunities enjoyed by some become the freedoms and opportunities enjoyed by all.  In particular, the Project works to ensure access to abortion services, comprehensive sex education, and affordable contraception, and to protect the rights of marginalized women to continue their pregnancies.  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.

For more than three decades, the Project has participated in nearly every critical reproductive rights case before the Supreme Court and in significant cases in federal and state courts too numerous to count, including challenges to intrusive counseling laws; laws that defund organizations because they provide or refer for abortion; bans on abortion procedures; laws that restrict teens’ access to abortion; and restrictions on insurance coverage of abortion.  The ACLU is also the nation’s leading expert on the intersection between reproductive rights and the religion and free speech clauses of the First Amendment. The Reproductive Freedom Project is part of the ACLU’s Center for Liberty, which is dedicated to the principle that we are all entitled to determine the course of our lives based on who we are and what we believe, free from unreasonable government constraint and baseless stereotypes.  The Center for Liberty encompasses the ACLU’s work on reproductive rights, women’s rights, LGBT issues, and freedom of religion and belief.

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

The fall 2013 Undergraduate Internship requires an 8 – 12 week commitment.  The internship is part-time, with weekly hours that are negotiable. The number of interns accepted may vary.  Interns are highly encouraged to obtain funding from outside sources, as the internship is unpaid.  Arrangements can be made for work/study or course credit.

The internship is open to students who are currently enrolled in an undergraduate program and have completed their first year of college.  Applicants must possess:

Please send a letter of interest, a resume, and a non-fiction writing sample of no more than five pages in length to hrjobsRFP@aclu.org.  Reference [Fall 2013 Undergraduate Internship – RFP] in the subject line.  Please note that this is not the general ACLU applicant email address. This email address is specific to Reproductive Freedom Project postings. In order to ensure your application is received please make certain it is sent to the correct e-mail address.   You can expect to receive an automatic response that acknowledges the submission of application materials.

Applications will be accepted until the internships are filled.

This job description provides a general but not comprehensive list of the essential responsibilities and qualifications required.  It does not represent a contract of employment.  The ACLU reserves the right to change the job description and or posting at any time without advance notice.