The House passed legislation to codify abortion access on July 15. The Women’s Health Protection Act prohibits pre-viability and telehealth abortion bans. Henry Cueller (D-CA) was the only Representative to break party lines in the 219-210 vote. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) abstained. The House and Senate sponsors are Judy Chu (D-CA) and […]
Only 8 Republicans Vote Yes for Birth Control Protections
On Thursday, the House passed the Right to Contraception Act by a 228-195 margin. It establishes the right to birth control access and drew just 8 Republican votes. Liz Cheney (R-WY), Brain Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), John Katko (R-NY), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Maria Salazar (R-FL) and Fred Upton (R-MI) represented the […]
Record-Breaking Number of Reproductive Health Ballot Initiatives
This November, voters will decide on reproductive access amendments in six states—the highest number ever for abortion-related ballot initiatives. Three restrict access, while the other three are the first proposals supported by pro-choice organizers since 1992. Restrive abortion amendments have been regularly circulated since 1982. Here are the 2022 ballot measures: Initiatives on the 2022 […]
Abortion Providers, Patients Testify at House Hearing
The American Medical Association has been trying to give abortion providers medical, moral, and legal direction since Roe v. Wade was overturned. “At this point,” AMA president Jack Resneck told the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday, “we have more questions than answers.” Rep. Dianne DeGette (D-CO) chaired the hearing, which heard testimony from […]
Interstate Travel Abortion Protections
Lawmakers in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas are considering legislation to ban residents from seeking or helping to provide out-of-state abortions. Fourteen governors have preemptively prohibited government agencies and employees from cooperating with other states’ abortion investigation cases. This includes providing time, money, information, or other resources to states banning people from receiving […]
Biden Issues Executive Order to Protect Reproductive Healthcare
“The only way to secure a woman’s right to choose is for Congress to restore the protections of Roe as federal law,” a statement from the White House said today. “Until then, he has committed to doing everything in his power to defend reproductive rights and protect access to safe and legal abortion.” President Biden […]
Tragic and Cruel: Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade today in a 5-4 decision. Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal and Feminist Majority Executive Director Katherine Spillar released the following statement: “Today’s Supreme Court tragic and cruel decision to overturn Roe v Wade is catastrophic and endangers the lives and futures of millions of women and girls, especially poor […]
Texas Supreme Court Ends Federal Court Challenge to State’s Abortion Ban
The all-Republican Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled that abortion providers can’t sue state officials to block Senate Bill 8, which bans abortion at roughly six-weeks with no exceptions for rape or incest. The unanimous decision closed the narrow pathway to challenge the law left open by the U.S. Supreme Court last December after the […]
“The Equal Rights Amendment Has Been Ratified. It Is the Law”: U.S. House Resolution Declares ERA 28th Amendment
by Carrie N. Baker for Ms. Magazine In an opinion issued on Wednesday, Jan. 26, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) helped clear the way for the Equal Rights Amendment, according to leading ERA advocates. In January of 2020, under Trump, the OLC issued an opinion arguing that Congress had no power to remove a […]
Supreme Court Issues Another Procedural Blow to Texas Abortion Advocates
This Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Texas abortion providers again in the on-going legal battle over the state’s controversial six-week ban, S.B. 8. This week’s decision was made regarding the issue of sending the case back to the original trial judge, an attempt by abortion advocates to move their challenge to the law […]
New Year’s Eve Fire at Knoxville Planned Parenthood Ruled Arson
The fire that destroyed a Knoxville Planned Parenthood clinic on New Year’s Eve was ruled as “intentionally set” by the Knoxville Fire Department yesterday. According to the department, they were assisted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) in conducting their investigation and have “determined the fire to have been purposely set by an […]
Supreme Court Delivers Another Blow Against Abortion Rights
Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block a clearly unconstitutional abortion ban in Texas, leaving in place S.B. 8, which bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The Court’s ruling substantially narrows options to challenge the law in federal court, and there is no fast option for a Texas Supreme Court ruling […]
The Supreme Court Must Not Reward Anti-Abortion Violence
by Christian F. Nunes and Eleanor Smeal Political violence as a tool for achieving political goals is on the rise, particularly when it comes to abortion. We’ve seen this before with S.B. 8 in Texas, a law that codifies vigilante anti-abortion extremism, and we’re seeing it again with the Mississippi abortion ban case, Dobbs v. Jackson […]
New Poll Shows Strong Majority of Americans Support Upholding Roe v. Wade
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll found that Americans, by a large majority, think that the Supreme Court should uphold Roe v. Wade, and, by a similar margin, oppose SB8, the Texas abortion ban that was implemented in September. According to the poll, 60 percent of Americans say that Roe should be upheld, and 75 […]
Texas’s Six-Week Ban Has Been In Effect for Over Two Months. Is There an End in Sight?
by Roxy Szal for Ms. magazine With a lack of Supreme Court action to block the most restrictive abortion ban in history, Texas abortion advocates are looking to a district court for relief. On Wednesday, a state district judge heard arguments from abortion providers and advocates to block enforcement of Texas Senate Bill 8, the most […]
Ohio Lawmakers Introduce Total Abortion Ban
On Wednesday, lawmakers in Ohio introduced a bill banning all abortions in the state. The bill has a similar structure as Texas’s SB8, deputizing private citizens to sue abortion providers and anyone who helps someone access abortion care. Those lawsuits can reach $10,000 or more. Much like in Texas’s law, the bill is designed to […]
Supreme Court Hears Challenges to Texas Abortion Ban
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard two procedural challenges to SB8, Texas’s six-week abortion ban that was enacted on September 1. The Court heard both United States v. Texas and Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, both challenging the law. US Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar argued that the law is unconstitutional and that if upheld, […]
Supreme Court Will Hear Texas Abortion Ban Case November 1
On Friday, the Supreme Court said that they will not block Texas’ SB8, a near-total abortion ban, but will review the law on November 1st. The justices said that they will rule on whether the Justice Department and abortion providers can sue in federal court over the law, which was designed specifically to avoid judicial […]
Biden Administration Asks Supreme Court to Block Texas Abortion Ban
On Monday, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to block SB8, a Texas law banning abortion after six weeks. The administration claims the measure is unconstitutional, and that it was purposefully designed to evade judicial review. The law was allowed to be put into effect on September 1, after the Supreme Court refused to block […]
Appeals Court Puts Temporary Hold on Judge’s Order to Block Texas Abortion Ban
On Friday night, a federal appeals court placed a temporary hold on a federal judge’s order to block Texas’ SB8, an extreme, near-total abortion ban enacted last month. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Texas’ administrative stay request, after Judge Robert Pitman ruled to block the law last week, responding to a request from […]
