On Tuesday, the Supreme Court maintained the Center for Disease Control’s halt on eviction for tenants who could not pay rent due to hardships imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court denied a challenge on the eviction ban brought by a group of landlords. The moratorium will now be left […]
Iowa Law Mandating 24-Hour Waiting Period for Abortion is Blocked by Judge
On Monday, an Iowa district judge blocked a law that required patients to observe a 24-hour waiting period before they could get an abortion. The law, passed in 2020, was declared unconstitutional by Judge Mitchell Turner. He ruled that the law not only violated a 2018 decision made by the Iowa Supreme Court that protects […]
V.A. Will Provide Gender Confirmation Surgery to Transgender Veterans
On Saturday, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that they plan to add gender confirmation surgery to their existing healthcare services. V.A. Secretary Denis McDonough made this announcement at a Pride event in Orlando, Florida. The new directive will reverse a 2013 ban on gender confirmation surgery, in which the V.A. refused to provide the […]
North Carolina’s 20-Week Abortion Ban Ruled Unconstitutional by Federal Appeals Court
North Carolina’s ban on abortion past 20 weeks of pregnancy was unanimously declared unconstitutional on Wednesday by Richmond, Virginia’s 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The ban had been in effect since 1973 and was enacted as a response to the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Roe v. Wade. It prohibited abortion after 20 weeks except […]
Supreme Court Rules to Uphold Affordable Care Act, Decides Catholic Adoption Agency has Right to Prevent LGBTQ+ Couples from Fostering Children
In a 7-2 decision Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled to leave Affordable Care Act intact, dismissing a challenge made against the ACA by several states led by Texas. The challenge claimed that the ACA’s individual mandate was unconstitutional. The plaintiffs had hoped that a ruling of the individual mandate as unconstitutional would declare every other provision of the ACA, and the entire law itself, unconstitutional as well. This is the third challenge to have been made against the ACA since the […]
California Legislature Considers Bill to Reduce Abortion Costs
The California state legislature is considering a bill to reduce or eliminate the cost of abortion care in the state. The bill would eliminate co-pays and payments towards deductibles for abortions and abortion counseling. The bill, SB 245, was approved by the Senate and will next be voted on in the Assembly. “It’s tough to […]
Supreme Court to Review Mississippi’s 15- Week Abortion Ban
On Monday, the Supreme Court said that it will review Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, which aimed to repeal Roe v. Wade, in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The ban has been blocked by lower courts over the last two years since its passage, reasoning that the law is unconstitutional under Roe’s standards. […]
Texas Legislature Debates Anti-Trans Youth Bill
On Wednesday, the Texas House heard testimony debating HB 1399, a bill which would ban gender-affirming care for transgender young people. The bill would prohibit doctors from providing evidence-based, best practice medical care for transgender young people under 18. Many parents of transgender children spoke on Wednesday about the danger of this bill. One parent […]
Biden Administration Reverses Trump-era Limits on Transgender Health Protections
On Monday, the Biden administration announced that it will provide protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in health care. The new rules undo the Trump administration’s limiting of the definition of “sex”, which they narrowed to the gender one is assigned at birth, thereby excluding transgender and gender nonconforming individuals from […]
Congresswoman Maloney, Congressional Maternity Care Caucus, and Black Maternal Health Caucus Co-Chairs Introduce Bill to Protect Breastfeeding Rights to Working Moms
On Tuesday, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, with Congressional Maternity Care Caucus co-chairs Congresswomen Jaime Herrera Beutler and Lucille Roybal-Allard and co-chairs of the Black Maternal Health Caucus Alma Adams and Lauren Underwood, introduced the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act. The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act will close a coverage gap in […]
Montana Governor Signs Three Anti-Abortion Bills
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 […]
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 […]
New Mexico Governor Signs Bill Requiring Paid Sick Leave
Last week, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill into law that will make New Mexico one of 15 states requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees, regardless of the size of the business. The union-backed legislation guarantees that employees can accrue one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked—up […]
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 […]
Arkansas Passes Bill Banning Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
This week, Arkansas passed legislation that bans access to gender-affirming care for minors. The bill now goes to Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson to be signed into law. If signed, Arkansas will become the first state to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth. The bill, misleadingly called the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, would prohibit […]
Nearly 200 Businesses Urge Congress To Enact Federal Paid Leave Program
In a letter sent to congressional leaders on Tuesday, nearly 200 businesses are calling for a permanent federal paid family and medical leave program to become part of any future economic recovery legislation passed by Congress. “We cannot emerge from this pandemic and remain one of only two countries in the world with no form […]
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 […]
Kansas Senate Passes Bill Targeting Trans Student-Athletes
On Wednesday, the Kansas Senate passed a bill banning transgender students from girls’ and women’s school sports. The measure passed 24-10, sending it to Kansas’ conservative House. Governor Laura Kelly referred to the bill as “regressive,” and said that the controversial policy could repel businesses from the state, which supporters dismissed. One legislator, Representative Stephanie […]
