Maggie Jo
Buchanan

Senior Director and Senior Legal Fellow, Women’s Initiative

she/her

Maggie Jo Buchanan is the senior director and senior legal fellow for the Women’s Initiative at American Progress, where she leads interdisciplinary work on women’s economic security, health, and leadership.

Before her current role, Buchanan was the director of Courts and Legal Policy at American Progress, publishing widely cited reports on topics such as professional diversity on the federal bench and U.S. Supreme Court term limits. In addition, she previously served as an associate director for the Women’s Initiative, focused on women’s health and reproductive rights.

In addition to her work at American Progress, Buchanan has led policy initiatives at organizations such as Young Invincibles and NARAL Pro-Choice America. She also served as a senior legislative assistant to Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX). In that role, she managed significant portions of the congressman’s Ways and Means portfolio, including his work on health care, worker and family supports, and Social Security matters. Buchanan also has significant experience in the states, working in Texas on issues that include maternal health, reproductive rights, and the unique challenges facing student-parents.

Buchanan’s work has received extensive news coverage in NPR, PBS NewsHour, Bloomberg, The Guardian, the Houston ChronicleThe Texas TribuneThe Washington PostPolitico, and more. She earned her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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People Determine the Reach of the Supreme Court In the News

People Determine the Reach of the Supreme Court

Maggie Jo Buchanan argues that a year after the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the American people have stepped up to protect abortion rights.

DC Journal

Maggie Jo Buchanan

Revelations About Justice Clarence Thomas Reinforce the Need for Justices to Be Bound by an Ethics Code Article
The Supreme Court of the United States.

Revelations About Justice Clarence Thomas Reinforce the Need for Justices to Be Bound by an Ethics Code

Media reports that Justice Clarence Thomas accepted lavish yacht trips and private jet rides without publicly disclosing them underscore the urgent need for Supreme Court justices to be bound by a binding code of ethics just like other federal judges and members of Congress.

Medication Abortion and the Politicalization of Drug Safety: The Impact of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA Past Event
Unopened foil packets for two types of pills, which can be taken together for a medication abortion.

Medication Abortion and the Politicalization of Drug Safety: The Impact of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA

Please join the Center for American Progress for a virtual panel discussion on the importance of medication abortion and taking politics out of drug safety.

A Collaborative Agenda for the Disability and Reproductive Justice Communities in 2023 Fact Sheet
A close-up of the Capitol building

A Collaborative Agenda for the Disability and Reproductive Justice Communities in 2023

The Center for American Progress recently hosted a roundtable of more than 20 advocates from the reproductive and disability rights and justice communities—and has compiled the top five policy priorities important to focus on this year.

Hyde’s Restrictions on Abortion Are Unacceptable Article
Abortion rights activists march past the Washington Monument.

Hyde’s Restrictions on Abortion Are Unacceptable

While it is critical that Congress works to codify the promise of Roe v. Wade and ensure equitable access to abortion care, the federal government must take what steps it can now under the scope of the Hyde Amendment to increase access to care and protect patients.

Maggie Jo Buchanan, Tracy Weitz

A Strong Start in Life: How Public Health Policies Affect the Well-Being of Pregnancies and Families Report
A mother kisses her child as her midwife examines her at a birthing center in South Los Angeles.

A Strong Start in Life: How Public Health Policies Affect the Well-Being of Pregnancies and Families

Understanding how the key social determinants of health—including housing, employment, and education—affect perinatal health is critical to ensuring that federal policies support healthy babies and families.

Hailey Gibbs, Marquisha Johns, Osub Ahmed, 2 More Maggie Jo Buchanan, Arohi Pathak

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