John Ashcroft changed the Attorney General’s job description from law enforcement to ideological warfare. He attempted to invade Americans’ personal privacy in innumerable ways. He aggressively defended the federal abortion ban that three federal courts have declared unconstitutional and unenforceable, going so far as to subpoena the private medical records of thousands of women relating to their abortion care. As part of these efforts, he stated that patients no longer have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their medical records.

Ashcroft’s Justice Department also argued in favor of a state abortion ban that clearly endangers women’s health. Even after promising at his confirmation hearing to uphold Roe v. Wade as the law of the land, Ashcroft never stopped trying to roll back the right to choose.