On Monday, Governor Greg Gianforte of Montana signed three bills aimed at restricting abortion access. The first bill requires health care providers to offer pregnant people the opportunity to view an ultrasound before providing an abortion. The second creates restrictions for medication abortion, including outlawing the use of telemedicine for administration of the necessary pills. […]
Oklahoma Governor Signs Sweeping Anti-Abortion Legislation into Law
On Monday, Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt signed three anti-abortion bills into law, making abortion in Oklahoma nearly impossible to access. HB 2441 is a “heartbeat” bill, which prohibits abortion once a “fetal heartbeat” has been detected. It only makes exceptions for cases where the mother’s life is in danger. Any provider who performs an abortion […]
Arkansas Passes Law Requiring Survivors of Rape, Incest to Report Crime Before Seeking Abortion
On Wednesday, Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson signed into law a bill that requires victims of rape and incest to report the crime to police before seeking an abortion after the state’s 20-week limit. The law will apply to other restrictive abortion cutoffs currently enacted by the state and will require abortion providers to document that […]
Biden Announces Reversal of Trump’s Domestic Gag Rule
On Wednesday, the Biden Administration announced that they would be taking steps to undo the Trump-era domestic “gag” rule, which prevented clinics that referred patients for abortions from receiving federal funding. The proposed Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule would revoke the Trump restrictions eventually, but not immediately. If implemented, the rule will […]
Biden Administration to Amend Trump Federal Family Planning Program Rules
The Biden administration has announced that it will rewrite the rules for the Title X federal family planning program put in place by Donald Trump, which forced Planned Parenthood and other independent clinics who provide abortion and reproductive health care to withdraw from the program in 2019. Trump’s changes to the program, which provides reproductive […]
Anti-Abortion Extremist Sentenced to Prison for Health Insurance Fraud
On February 23, Jeffrey White and his son Nicholas White were sentenced to prison and subsequent supervised release. The two men conspired to defraud health care plans under the Affordable Care Act, enrolling individuals in ACA plans in states where they did not live. They created fake leases and cell phone numbers for these individuals. […]
Two Incidents of Anti-Abortion Clinic Harassment Occur This Week
On Saturday, an anti-abortion protester accidentally shot himself outside of A Woman’s Choice clinic in Raleigh, North Carolina. According to Kelsea McLain, a lead volunteer coordinator with the clinic, the facility has lockdown protocols to follow when a gun is seen on site, but no staff members realized that the protester was armed until after […]
Idaho House Passes Legislation to Defund Abortion Providers
On Tuesday, the Idaho House passed a bill that would prevent any public funding from going to health care practitioners who perform or provide counsel on abortion care. The bill, HB 525, “would bar all public funding to any entity — including schools, public health departments and other health care providers — if anyone associated […]
Tennessee Legislators Introduce Bill Allowing Fathers to Prevent Abortion
Tennessee legislators have introduced a bill that if passed would allow biological fathers to receive a court injunction preventing the pregnant person from receiving an abortion. SB 494 was introduced in the Tennessee state Senate last week by Republican state Sen. Mark Pody, with a corresponding bill HB 1079 introduced in the state House by […]
Texas Judge Temporarily Blocks Order to Remove Planned Parenthood from Medicaid
A state judge has ruled to temporarily halt the expulsion of Planned Parenthood from the Texas Medicaid program. Planned Parenthood affiliates brought an emergency lawsuit against the order on Wednesday, asserting that the state failed to give proper notice. The change was set to take effect on Thursday of this week, but the temporary restraining […]
South Carolina Senate Passes Bill Banning Most Types of Abortion
Last Thursday, the South Carolina Senate voted 30-13 to pass a bill that will outlaw almost all abortions in the state if signed into law. The “South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act” outlaws abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which usually occurs around six to eight weeks, often before a person […]
Biden Announces Plan to Rescind Global Gag Rule on Abortion Funding
President Biden has announced his intention to rescind the Mexico City policy on January 28, a mandate which prevents the US from providing international funding to nongovernmental groups that provide abortion and reproductive health care. The policy has been enacted and revoked by Republican and Democratic presidents since the Reagan administration. President Trump put the […]
Ohio Governor Expected to Sign Bill Requiring the Burial of Abortion Remains
Last Thursday, the Ohio House of Representatives approved a bill that would require the burial of fetal remains from surgical abortions. The bill passed along party lines by a vote of 60-36 in the House, and 24-7 in the Senate. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is expected to sign the bill into law. The measure will […]
Colorado Voters Defeat Proposition 115, Maintaining Support for Abortion Access
As of this morning, 59.1 percent of Colorado voters voted “no” on Proposition 115, a proposition that would restrict abortions after a fetus reaches 22 weeks gestational age except when “immediately required to save the life of a pregnant woman”. This proposition did not include exceptions for rape or incest, would impose $5,000 fines on […]
Anti-Abortion Activist Who Advocated for Ending Women’s Suffrage Speaks at RNC
Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood employee turned anti-abortion activist, spoke at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Tuesday. Johnson was the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic before leaving after reportedly watching an abortion on an ultrasound. She now runs And Then There Were None, an organization which helps those who work in facilities […]
Texas Clinics See a Rise in Later Abortions After a Temporary State Ban Expires
Many clinics in Texas have observed an increase in later-term abortions, following a temporary ban on the procedures lasting from March 22 until April 22. On March 22, Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order banning most abortions, citing coronavirus and hospital capacity as reasons for this ban. The order stated that “all licensed health […]
New Planned Parenthood Clinic in Alabama Offers Abortion Services
In Birmingham, Alabama a Planned Parenthood clinic in the Southside area has opened and plans to offer abortion services to the community. The clinic had a soft opening on July 14 and is now open for business. The vice president of external affairs for Planned Parenthood Southeast, Barbara Ann Luttrell said “It’s 11,000 square feet, […]
Indiana Law Requiring Medical Providers Report Abortion Complications Struck Down
Yesterday a federal judge deemed an Indiana law that required medical providers to report to the state complications their patients experienced after an abortion unconstitutional. The lawsuit was brought against Indiana by the ACLU of Indiana on behalf of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky. Judge Richard Young stated in his opinion that the law was […]
Ohio Left With Only Eight Abortion Clinics After Recent Closure
Ohio will have only eight abortion clinics after the closing of Founder’s Women’s Health Center in Columbus. The clinic is set to close this month, upon delivering final care to its existing patients. The owners of Founder’s Women’s Health Center say the clinic’s closure is due to their retirement. They declined to make a statement […]