In the United States, the path to accessible birth control pills hasn’t always been easy. Although the first FDA-approved birth control pill became available in 1960, the Comstock Act (a 150 year old “chastity law”) has created barriers to accessing it. These barriers were not challenged until Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965, when the Supreme […]
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act goes into effect
Photo by Laura Ohlman on Unsplash Last Tuesday, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which President Biden signed into law last year, went into effect. This new law will expand “long-overdue protections to ensure that workers experiencing pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions have the right to reasonable accommodations in the workplace,” according to the […]
President Biden issues new Executive Order on access to contraceptives
Photo by Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition on Unsplash On Friday, President Biden issued an Executive Order demanding strengthened access to affordable contraceptives and family planning services. This is the President’s first executive order which centers on contraceptives and his third on reproductive health care. His two previous Executive Orders focused on securing access to reproductive […]
Justice for Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa as two men charged for firebombing
Photo from Flickr.com On Wednesday, two men were charged with firebombing a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa, California last March 2022. The individuals are Chance Brannon, 23, and Tibet Ergul, 21. Brannon and Ergul threw a Molotov cocktail at the entrance of the Planned Parenthood clinic prior to its opening on March 13, 2022, […]
Google Made Millions from Advertising Fake Abortion Clinics
Photo from JASIATIC CLC As a growing number of U.S. states enact bans on abortion, pregnant individuals are overwhelmingly turning to online resources for medical care. From telehealth providers to abortion travel services, virtual healthcare is now vital for abortion-seekers across the country. But despite the increased use of online services, the internet can also […]
CDC releases new report on national maternal mortality rates
Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images The United States continues to have the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed country, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. A new report presenting the most recent data on maternal mortality found that in 2021, there were on average 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births across […]
International Women’s Day 2023: An update on reproductive freedom
As we celebrate this International Women’s Day, it is important that we take time to reflect on the rapidly changing status of reproductive freedom in our country following the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Yesterday, Florida Republicans introduced an extreme 6-week abortion ban in the state legislature, with the Republican supermajority making it almost certain […]
Birth Control and Contraceptive Coverage Guaranteed Under Affordable Care Act
Though birth control has overwhelming support across the United States, Justice Clarence Thomas continues to challenge access to contraception. In recent news, however, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has actually been able to reaffirm contraceptive coverage. President Biden issued an Executive Order on July 28, 2022, which ensured that people would have access to reproductive […]
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 […]
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 […]
Maloney and Other Members of Congress Introduce Access to Birth Control Act
On Wednesday, November 17, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Rep. Robin Kelly, and Rep Katie Porter in the House and Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Patty Murray in the Senate introduced the Access to Birth Control Act to ensure that customers attempting to access birth control at pharmacies cannot be turned away. According to Rewire News, “thanks […]
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 […]
Federal Judge Blocks Texas’ Abortion Ban
On Wednesday, a federal judge granted an emergency request from the Justice Department and blocked enforcement of Texas’s SB8, a law banning abortion after six weeks. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman said in his ruling that since SB8 went into effect in September, “women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their lives […]
Thousands of Protesters March to Demand Abortion Rights Across Latin America
In several Latin American countries, thousands of people marched for the right to safe and legal abortion on Tuesday, marking International Safe Abortion Day. Large groups of people marched to protest the restrictive and severely punitive abortion laws in many Latin American countries. Protesters held up signs with the slogans, “legal abortion for health and […]
