A note from WLP Co-Executive Director Amal Bass:
Dear Supporters,
As I wrap up my last day at the Women’s Law Project, I wanted to thank you for your support of WLP at such an important time. Over two years ago, Sue Frietsche and I took over as co-executive directors as the world was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic and just days after the U.S. Supreme Court eviscerated federal constitutional protection for abortion rights.
With your support, we met the moment by expanding our staff and our services. We increased our legal representation of young people in need of abortion care in Pennsylvania. After years of state-level advocacy, unregulated anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers were defunded. We achieved the passage of a law banning nonconsensual pelvic exams. Five years into litigation, we won a landmark victory before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that revived our state Equal Rights Amendment.
WLP is committed to fighting the biases and eliminating discrimination that punishes women whether they want to end a pregnancy or keep one. For most of my career at the Women’s Law Project, I represented low-income workers facing pregnancy discrimination at work. From those clients, we learned about the gaps in our anti-discrimination laws, and with that knowledge, we advocated for policy change.
In Philadelphia, we advocated successfully for amendments to city law to protect pregnant or lactating workers. At the federal level, after more than a decade of advocacy, the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act finally went into effect last year. I will never forget speaking at the Philadelphia press conference about the introduction of the federal bill–and then speaking at a press conference ten years later when we finally celebrated its enactment.
Change takes time. It has been an honor to engage in this work for 18 years. I will miss WLP, but I am excited about my next chapter.
Next week, I will become the executive director of the Homeless Advocacy Project, a public interest legal organization that provides free legal help to individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia.
WLP is in good hands under Sue’s leadership. She is a visionary leader with strong and growing teams in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. I look forward to applauding WLP’s future victories as the organization celebrates 50 years of advancing and protecting the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ people in Pennsylvania and beyond.
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Amal
