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 […]
FDA Lifts Ban on Receiving Abortion Pill By Mail During Pandemic
On Tuesday, the Biden administration lifted the ban on receiving the pills required for medication abortion through the mail. The reprieve only applies for the duration of the pandemic but is still a major victory for abortion rights advocates. In a letter sent Monday, acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock said that the agency would stop […]
ACLU Files Suit On Behalf of Incarcerated Woman Seeking Abortion Care
On Friday, the ACLU of Nebraska filed a federal lawsuit seeking emergency action on behalf of an incarcerated woman who is being blocked from accessing abortion care. The woman is incarcerated at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women (NCCW). ACLU argues in its lawsuit that the state official’s policy violates the woman’s constitutional right to […]
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. […]
Arkansas Governor Signs Near-Total Abortion Ban into Law
This week Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson signed into law a near-total ban on all abortions in Arkansas, with the only exception being if the life of the pregnant person is in danger. “This is politics at its very worst,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, in a statement. “At a time […]
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 […]
Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Anti-Abortion Law in South Carolina
After one day of passage, federal Judge Mary Geiger Lewis placed a 14-day restraining order on the law and plans to renew it until amore substantial hearing on March 9th. The law, titled “South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat Protection from Abortion Act” restricts abortion at the detection of fetal heartbeat, which can be as early as […]
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 […]
Activists in Poland Seek Support for Reversing Abortion Law
After the Polish constitutional court issued a ruling in October that imposed a near-total ban on abortion in the country, over one hundred thousand Polish activsts have been been protesting the law, now for over 100 days. These protests are the largest mass protest movement that the country has seen in its post-communist era. Yesterday, […]
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 […]
Kansas Senate Voted to Put Anti-Abortion Question on the Ballot
On Thursday, the Kansas State Senate voted to pass a measure that will put an anti-abortion amendment on the ballot in 2022, asking voters to decide if the state constitution should say that there is no right to abortion, leaving the power to regulate abortion to the legislature. If passed, Kansas would join the four […]
Biden Executive Order Ends Global Gag Rule and Strengthens Health Care Access
Today, President Biden will sign a series of executive orders that will end the global gag rule which prevents nongovernmental organizations from receiving U.S. aid if they provide or recommend abortion care. They will also order a review and assessment of the Title X domestic gag rule, as well as strengthening access to the Affordable […]
100+ Organizations Call for Expansion of Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice
Today, the Blueprint for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice published a full-page ad in the Washington Post highlighting top priorities for the Biden-Harris administration to expand and protect access to sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. The Blueprint represents over 100 progressive organizations. The ad enumerates four tangible policy actions that progressive […]
Virginia Senate Passes Bill to Expand Abortion Access
On Friday, the Virginia state Senate passed a bill to remove the prohibition from the state code that bans private insurance plans on the state’s health insurance exchange from covering abortions, except in narrow circumstances. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond). This bill does not mandate that insurance carriers cover abortion care, […]
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 […]
Supreme Court Reinstates Anti-Abortion Measure
On Tuesday, The Supreme Court revived the federal mandate requiring medication abortion patients to pick up their mifepristone pill in person from a medical office or hospital, even when their consultation with their doctor is remote. The suit was originally brought against the FDA by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the Council […]
Argentina’s Congress Voted to Legalize Abortion in Groundbreaking Move
On December 30, Argentina’s Senate voted to legalize abortions for the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. This vote comes after years of pro-choice activism in the conservative country. Until now, abortion was only permitted in cases of rape or when the mother’s health was at risk. Abortion patients could be punished by up to 15 […]