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 […]
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 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 […]
Chelsea Becker, Woman Incarcerated for Pregnancy Loss, Released on Bail
On Tuesday, a California Judge granted Chelsea Becker’s request to be released on her own recognizance, and she will enter a residential treatment facility upon release. Becker had a stillbirth in 2019, and at the time Kings County District Attorney Keith L. Fagundes claimed that the stillbirth was caused by methamphetamine use, on no scientific […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Top 10 Feminist Moments of 2020
2020 was an unprecedented and difficult year, but that didn’t stop feminists from achieving some great things over the last 12 months. Kamala Harris became the first female Vice President of the U.S. In November, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris became Vice President-elect of the United States. Harris broke multiple barriers by becoming the first woman, […]
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 […]
Court Rules Texas and Louisiana Can Cut Medicaid Funding for Planned Parenthood
A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that both Texas and Louisiana can stop providing funding to Planned Parenthood clinics, a clear move against abortion rights that will disproportionately impact low-income people and people of color. This move by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans also impacts Mississippi, which is under […]
Amendment 1 Passes, Further Restricting Abortion Access in LA
Last week, Louisiana voters passed Proposed Amendment 1, which explicitly states that the state constitution offers no protections for a right to an abortion or funding for abortions. Voters passed the constitutional amendment 62 percent to 38 percent. If Roe were to be overturned, which is a rising concern due to the appointment of Justice […]
Judge Strikes Down Tennessee Abortion Law Requiring 48-Hour Waiting Period
On Wednesday, a federal judge struck down a 2015 law in Tennessee requiring pregnant people to wait 48 hours after a clinic visit to have an abortion procedure done. The judge, Bernard A. Friedman, found that this law “placed an undue burden on women, particularly low-income women, by requiring them to travel to a health […]
New Jersey Moves to Codify Roe v. Wade into State Law
With the recent death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Trump’s swift move to nominate Amy Coney Barrett as her replacement, reproductive rights are on the line, with many anti-abortion advocates hoping Roe v. Wade will soon be overturned. Last Friday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy unveiled the state’s Reproductive Freedom Act, which is “proactive […]
Mexican Women Protest for Legalized Abortion
Yesterday, on International Safe Abortion Day, hundreds of women in Mexico City clashed with the police during protests demanding nationwide legalized abortion in Mexico. The protestors donned green bandanas, the symbol of the Latin American pro-choice movement, and threw Molotov cocktails and bottles at police lines. Much of the police force was comprised of female […]