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Non-profit

Pregnancy Justice, Inc.

Website:

www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/
Location:

New York, NY
Tax ID:

52-2282183
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2021):

Revenue: $2,875,446
Expenses: $2,783,075
Assets: $7,432,150
Type:

Abortion Activist Group
Formation:

2001
President:

Lourdes A. Rivera, J.D.
Budget (2022):

Revenue: $3,242,951
Expenses: $3,008,763
Assets: $6,432,669

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Pregnancy Justice, Inc. is a left-of-center legal advocacy organization. It focuses on pregnant women involved with the criminal justice or child welfare systems, labeling such cases as the “criminalization of pregnancy.” 1

Pregnancy Justice asserts that criminal justice and child welfare should never be involved in “pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes,” maintaining that these systems are designed to “terrorize” parents of color and the poor. 2

Background

Lynn Paltrow started Pregnancy Justice in 1998. 3 It seeks to strike down legal structures that “limit access to abortion; dehumanize pregnant people; invent separate legal right for fertilized eggs, embryos, and fetuses; expand the war on drugs to criminalize pregnancy [and] needlessly separate families based on stigma and medical misinformation.” 4 5

It became an independent nonprofit in 2001 and changed its name from National Advocates for Pregnant Women to Pregnancy Justice in 2022. Paltrow stepped down in 2023 and was succeeded by Lourdes A. Rivera, a former Ford Foundation program officer. 6

Pregnancy Justice endorses the reproductive justice framework spearheaded by SisterSong, an abortion advocacy group. 7 8 SisterSong views pregnancy through the lens of fighting “reproductive oppression” defined as “the control and exploitation of women, girls, and individuals through our bodies, sexuality, labor, and reproduction.” It advocates organizing “excluded groups” to challenge “structural power inequalities” represented by healthcare and legal systems. 9

Activities

As legal counsel, Pregnancy Justice represents pregnant women charged with crimes related to their pregnancy, threatened by state action, or challenging the constitutionality of a law. The majority of its clients are women of color, poor, and substance-abusing. Services are pro bono. 10

The organization represented 60 women in 2023, contributed to four amicus briefs, and filed a federal civil rights lawsuit jointly with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) against Alabama jail officials. They were accused of endangering imprisoned pregnant women after a woman gave birth unassisted in a shower stall and lost consciousness due to blood loss while the officials allegedly failed to act. 11 12

During 2023, Pregnancy Justice provided information and direct assistance to 110 people and trained 3,000 attorneys, students, healthcare and social workers, policymakers, and researchers. 13

The previous year it published eight reports covering fetal personhood as well as laws regulating parenting and drug use. 14 It maintains a database of criminal cases for all United States pregnancy outcomes 15 and provides testimony regarding proposed policies and legislation. It testified at a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on fetal personhood. 16

Pregnancy Justice was one of six principal signers of a 2023 letter to the United Nations alleging that ending Roe v. Wade placed the United States in violation of treaty obligations under international human rights law. The Roe v. Wade decision had guaranteed a federal constitutional right to abortion. Among examples cited in the letter were violations of the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. 17 18

Funding

Pregnancy Justice’s primary source of revenue is foundation grants. In 2022 it received $2,450,00 in grants and $616,677 in contributions. 19 The Ford Foundation contributed $400,000 and the Foundation for a Just Society awarded $200,000. 20 21 The organization received $225,000 from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and 34 grants from other donors. 22

Individual gifts are processed through ActBlue Charities. 23

Leadership

Lourdes A. Rivera leads Pregnancy Justice. A career abortion activist, Rivera was a program officer at Ford Foundation and vice president at the Center for Reproductive Rights. She co-founded the Groundswell Fund and California Latinas for Reproductive Justice. 24

References

  1. Pregnancy Justice. “Home.” Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/
  2. Pregnancy Justice. “Home.” Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/
  3. “Lynn M. Paltrow – Public Health Post,” April 23, 2019.  Accessed March 29, 2024. https://www.publichealthpost.org/profiles/lynn-m-paltrow/
  4. Pregnancy Justice. “Financials.” Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/financials/
  5. Pregnancy Justice. “Home.” Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/
  6. Pregnancy Justice. “Home.” Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/
  7. Sister Song. “Reproductive Justice.” Accessed March 29, 2024. https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice
  8. Pregnancy Justice. “Home.” Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/
  9. VAWnet.org. “Reproductive Justice Briefing Book: A Primer on Reproductive Justice and Social Change.” Accessed March 29, 2024. https://vawnet.org/material/reproductive-justice-briefing-book-primer-reproductive-justice-and-social-change
  10. Roberts, Andrea Suozzo, Alec Glassford, Ash Ngu, Brandon. “Pregnancy Justice Inc, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica, May 9, 2013. Accessed March 30, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/522282183/202313109349301951/full
  11. Pregnancy Justice. “Our Impact.” Accessed March 29, 2024. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/our-impact/
  12. [email protected], Amy Yurkanin |. “Alabama Woman Sues, Claims She Was Forced to Give Birth in Jailhouse Shower.” al, October 13, 2023. Accessed March 30, 2024. https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/alabama-woman-sues-claims-she-was-forced-to-give-birth-in-jailhouse-shower.html
  13. Pregnancy Justice. “Our Impact.” Accessed March 29, 2024. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/our-impact/
  14. Pregnancy Justice. “Our Impact.” Accessed March 29, 2024. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/our-impact/
  15. Pregnancy Justice. “Home.” Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/
  16. Pregnancy Justice. “Pregnancy Justice President Lourdes A. Rivera Testifies at Historic Senate Judiciary Hearing on the Dangers of Fetal Personhood.” Accessed March 30, 2024. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/press/lourdes-rivera-testifies-at-senate-judiciary-hearing-on-fetal-personhood/
  17. Noor, Poppy. “UN Urged to Intervene over Destruction of US Abortion Rights.” The Guardian, March 2, 2023, sec. World news. Accessed March 30, 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/02/destruction-us-abortion-laws-human-rights-violation-un
  18. “Letter to the UN Special Procedures on Abortion Rights in the US | Human Rights Watch,” March 2, 2023. Accessed March 30, 2023. https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/03/02/letter-un-special-procedures-abortion-rights-us
  19. Pregnancy Justice. “Financials.” Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/financials/
  20. Ford Foundation. “142688 – National Advocates for Pregnant Women (Aka Pregnancy Justice).” Accessed March 30, 2024. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/national-advocates-for-pregnant-women-aka-pregnancy-justice-142688/
  21. Roberts, Andrea Suozzo, Alec Glassford, Ash Ngu, Brandon. “Foundation For A Just Society, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica, May 9, 2013. Accessed March 30, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/273345774/202313069349101766/full
  22. “Pregnancy Justice (NAPW) | New York, NY | Cause IQ.” Accessed March 30, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/national-advocates-for-pregnant-women,522282183/
  23. Pregnancy Justice. “Support Pregnancy Justice.” Accessed March 30, 2024. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/donate/
  24. Pregnancy Justice. “Pregnancy Justice Announces Lourdes A. Rivera as New President.” Accessed March 31, 2024. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/press/lourdes-rivera-is-new-pregnancy-justice-president/
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: April 1, 2001

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2021 Dec Form 990 $2,875,446 $2,783,075 $7,432,150 $135,659 N $2,218,623 $500 $197,947 $550,988
    2020 Dec Form 990 $2,462,694 $2,366,293 $7,646,423 $503,206 N $2,160,586 $1,000 $157,174 $529,928
    2019 Dec Form 990 $2,593,376 $2,378,693 $6,771,874 $110,129 N $2,377,813 $5,282 $206,322 $380,362 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $3,265,063 $1,940,355 $5,956,994 $100,702 Y $3,097,675 $4,550 $183,351 $143,594 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $1,993,978 $1,551,660 $5,023,366 $132,915 N $1,876,440 $2,921 $110,416 $138,395 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $2,456,844 $1,175,320 $4,101,561 $76,285 N $2,341,681 $62,500 $52,663 $130,618 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $2,351,130 $1,198,654 $2,718,055 $36,320 N $2,351,348 $62,850 $-63,068 $125,000 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $1,334,895 $769,454 $1,548,655 $19,396 N $1,333,520 $0 $1,375 $115,000 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $1,027,878 $635,311 $982,818 $19,000 N $1,027,062 $0 $816 $115,000 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $892,766 $675,210 $589,116 $17,865 N $892,217 $0 $549 $115,000 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $380,012 $932,507 $396,487 $42,792 N $349,747 $0 $670 $115,000 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Pregnancy Justice, Inc.

    575 8TH AVE FL 7
    New York, NY 10018-3081