Fall 2026 Legal Intern, Reproductive Freedom Project

The ACLU seeks a Fall Legal Intern in the Reproductive Freedom Project of the ACLU’s National office in New York City. This position may be remote or hybrid. This position is course credit only.

Qualifying applicants must currently be matriculated legal students and must be based in the U.S. for the entire duration of the internship.

The ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project envisions a world that respects and supports each of us in making deeply personal decisions that determine the shape of our lives: with whom to form intimate relationships, and whether, when, and how to have children. In the world we see, we can all get the health care and other resources necessary to have a child, to prevent pregnancy, or to have an abortion—regardless of where we live, our income, race, age, gender identity, immigration status or whom we love.

For five decades, the ACLU has been a leader in the efforts to ensure that every person has access to affordable and stigma-free abortion care. Since the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, the ACLU has brought dozens of lawsuits seeking to preserve and expand access to abortion. Current cases include challenges to abortion bans and restrictions in states like Arizona, Georgia, and Missouri; challenges to policies that seek to prevent people from traveling to get an abortion; and cases using new state constitutional amendments to strike abortion restrictions and expand access. The ACLU is also a leader in efforts to preserve and expand access to medication abortion and brought the case that led to the FDA lifting rules that prevented people from receiving their medication through the mail.

In the current environment, the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project is challenging efforts by the Trump Administration to decimate our nation’s family planning program, and is preparing to challenge further efforts by the Trump Administration to restrict access to abortion, including efforts to restrict access to medication abortion, prevent people from obtaining emergency abortions, and misapply federal laws to shut down abortion care.

The Reproductive Freedom Project’s work extends beyond abortion and contraception. For example, the ACLU is currently litigating a case in Alabama – a state with woefully insufficient maternity care and appallingly high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality – which enabled the first free standing birth centers to obtain licenses and begin serving patients.

The ACLU is unique among reproductive rights organizations in that it works with the ACLU’s nationwide network of state affiliates as well as attorneys and advocates in the organization who specialize in areas such as LGBT rights, criminal defense, immigrants’ rights, racial justice, disability rights, and freedom of speech and religion.

 Interns will gain valuable experience working alongside the team assisting in all aspects of litigation, as well as exposure to policy advocacy and communications campaigns. 

• Conducting legal research and analysis 
• Aiding in drafting memoranda, motions, declarations, and legal pleadings 
• Providing general assistance on active litigation, including cite-checking  
• Supporting development of new litigation projects 
• Additional responsibilities could include working on fact development, conducting background research, or tracking and analyzing bills  

The internship is open to law students who will have completed at least one year of law school before the internship commences. Interns should possess the following: 

• Excellent legal research and writing skills and the ability to conduct complex legal analysis.
• Strong oral communications skills and the ability to explain complicated legal issues. 
• The ability to balance multiple assignments, to communicate with colleagues, and to accept and incorporate feedback. 
• A collaborative attitude – be a team player. 
• Demonstrated commitment to public interest law, civil rights and liberties, and social justice; a demonstrated commitment to reproductive health rights and justice is a plus but is not required.

• Be committed to advancing the mission of the ACLU
• Center and embed the principles of equity, inclusion and belonging in their work by demonstrating commitment to diversity with an approach that respects and values multiple perspectives
• Be committed to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflicts

• Location: Our internship program offers a limited number of remote or hybrid intern positions. This internship can be remote or hybrid and based in our New York City.
• Time Commitment: This internship may be part-time (10,15 or 20 hours/week)
• Internship Duration: Fall internships span 12 consecutive weeks for part-time with a start date of September 8 or September 21.
• Stipend: This position is course credit only. This internship must be tied to the intern’s formal education program by integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit".

While there is a priority deadline, our project is committed to reviewing all applications on a rolling basis until the closing of posting.

For over 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBTQ+ community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people.